For Always
by Adidasgrl328
Summary: Bella is a well accomplished romance novelist living with Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper in Forks, WA. When Emmett's little brother Edward comes to stay the summer, could Bella's seemingly perfect life not seem so perfect anymore? AH AU OOC LEMONS
1. First Sight

**A/N:** So this is my try at an All Human story. I hope you guys like it, because the story has been running through my head for the past 38 hours nonstop. Just note, this is a little OOC. I don't know how OOC it will get, but it is somewhat already. I love all of you, my amazing readers. Please enjoy reading, and I hope I get a review from you (good or bad). Jordi.B

**BELLA'S POV**

Emmett came bouncing into the room like the six year old we all knew he really was at heart. A giddy Jasper followed, looking like a thirteen year old boy who had just received his first kiss from the most amazing girl ever. They excitedly jumped up and down; the house shaking each time Emmett's feet hit the floor.

I looked up for a moment to see their childish behavior, but quickly returned to the notepad in front of me, thousands of words written down on the lined paper, the spiral binding barely holding all the pages together. I chuckled to myself as my handwriting faltered from the shaking house.

"OH MY GOD! EARTH QUAKE!" Alice shouted, running into the living room from the kitchen. Once again, I couldn't help but chuckle as she ducked down, shielding her head with her arms.

"Alice, honey, there isn't an earthquake," Rosalie said, the amusement clear in her voice. "It's my big buffoon of a boyfriend jumping around like a bunny rabbit on drugs."

Alice laughed at herself and stood up from the floor. "Oh."

"Which brings up the question of why exactly you and your accomplice, _Thumper,_ over there, are bouncing around like the cute little bunnies we all wish you were," Rosalie commented.

"Well," Emmett drawled, grasping his hands behind his back and rocking back and forth on his heels with a goofy grin on his face. "I think we all need to talk about something," he finally said.

Everyone took a seat around the living room of our lovely Forks, Washington home. It was extremely large, a beautiful, original Victorian, and was perfectly for the five of us. We'd bought it about three months ago, and truth be told, none of us could really be happier. At least, that was what I thought until about five minutes ago when I saw the looks on Jasper's and Emmett's faces.

Emmett Cullen was 26 going on 27, and the big brother I always wished I'd had growing up. His childish tricks combined with the ridiculousness of his entire being made it impossible not to love him. He worked as a personal trainer since the end of high school, and was so successful that he began looking into setting up a gym of his own this past week. Six months ago, he moved out here to Forks, from somewhere down in California, to live with his cousin, Jasper.

Jasper Whitlock had just finished grad school a year ago, now age 27, and had already become an accomplished psychiatrist. He had interned in the Port Angeles Hospital and now he started to run his own office. He even volunteered weekly over at the YMCA to help kids who really couldn't afford his services. He moved out to Forks, from the lovely city of Seattle, right after finishing up school, a year ago, so that he could finally be with his beloved Alice, who he had met six months before that.

Alice Brandon had grown up in the lovely town of Forks, Washington and had just turned 24 a month ago. She went to college in Seattle, having graduated two years ago. She studied design and fashion, and is now the best personal shopper alive. After landing the biggest client known to man, she now practically ran the company she was working for. However, she worked diligently on her own clothing line, her designs nearly complete and she was almost ready to begin showcasing them all to the world. She met Jasper while in a restaurant on business in Seattle, and the two had been inseparable ever since. Now, they were even engaged.

Rose and I both met the lovely Alice in college, the three of us being roommates through those four grueling years. Her superb amounts of energy and bubby personality made us instantly bond to the little pixie.

Rosalie Hale was born and raised in the bustling metropolis of Seattle. She went to college there too, and is a perfect 24 years of age, plus three or four months tacked on there too. Her model good looks always had guys calling after her, night and day. But her looks weren't the only reason she was constantly chased. She was every man's dream, considering her love for cars. She had been working as a car designer in Port Angeles and even began recently hoping to someday start her own car company called _Hale_. Her witty remarks, though, really called Alice and me to start the never ending friendship with her. She spent a few months living on her own after college before she got the job offer for Port Angeles and decided it was time to move back in with Alice and me. She was also now involved with Emmett, their relationship showing such a serious and intense love, that even I couldn't write something like that into my books.

This brings everything to me, Isabella Marie Swan. I was age 23, turning 24 in just a few months. Baby of our makeshift family, but not really minding at all. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, but I went to college in Seattle, clearly stating the obvious, and majored in English and Literature. My writing was great and a real passion of mine, the romance novels especially. Nothing I ever wrote could compare to the classics, but they were modern and well liked. My first was published while I was still in college, only 20 years old, and I was positively ecstatic. They flew off the shelves, and I was only inspired to continue my writing more and more. Now, four years later, I had five books on the shelves, still selling like they were brand new, and a six was on the way. Most of the money I made off the books went to pay my college loans, though, so I wasn't living large like Janet Evanovich. Still, I was living more than comfortably and in style. I was genuinely happy with the way my life was going.

Three months ago, we all were fed up with our living arrangements. The landlords were horrible in the apartment building that Alice, Rose, and I lived in. We even had the biggest and best apartment in the place, paying the most money, and he did nothing he should have. Emmett and Jasper had similar problems. Finally, we all decided that we were done with the apartments and bought this very house together. Between the five of us, we didn't even need to take a loan from the bank. After moving in, we all knew that this really was the life.

So, that brought us back to the present, and as I slowly put down my notebook, holding the very story I was currently writing out, I looked up at Emmett and Jasper.

"So?" I prompted as we all sat in silence.

Emmett placed his finger to his chin, looking as if he were thinking long and hard about how to begin. After a few long moments, I cleared my throat, and his attention snapped to us three girls who were sitting on the sofa before him.

"Alright, here it goes," he said. "You guys remember me mentioning my little brother right?"

"Edward?" I asked, remembering the multiple times he mentioned his prized little brother. I always truly wondered if Edward were the older one because Emmett always seemed like he looked up to the guy.

"That's the one," Jasper quietly and nervously chimed in.

"He just graduated medical school, amazingly at only twenty-five years old, and he is going to start his internship and residency over at the Port Angeles Hospital in September," Emmett began explaining. "He was just starting to go apartment hunting when he called me up. I was so excited to hear from him that I couldn't stop talking about meaningless things with him."

I laughed. "How often are the things you talk about meaningful?"

He smiled at me. "Not often, but that's beside the point. So when he started telling me everything, I told him that we weren't too far off. Since he wasn't doing anything this summer, I sort of invitedhimtostaywithus," Emmett finished off in such a rush that I wasn't sure if I heard him right.

"You invited him to stay with us?" I asked.

"I uh yeah. I know I should have asked you guys if he could stay here with us before offering it up to him, but I just was so excited at the prospect of getting to spend a whole summer with him. I haven't seen him since he started college. He's spent all his time taking extra classes and working on this project or that paper. I was evening hoping that maybe you guys would let him live here permanently."

I decided that I was going to have a little fun with my dearest big brother Emmett. The king of pranks was about to become the jester. "Oh, Emmett," I said, shaking my head back and forth. Rosalie and Alice caught on quickly and joined in with me.

"I can't believe you didn't speak with us first," Rosalie said, her voice sounding disappointed.

"I don't know if it's such a good idea," Alice continued.

We looked to see Emmett on the verge of tears, and then we decided to cut the game, because he really did look upset.

"God, Emmett. Go get a tissue and then tell us when he's getting here. Did you really think we'd deny you such a request?" I asked.

He instantly perked up and grabbed all three of us into a life threatening bear hug. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Trust me, you guys won't regret this."

He jumped up and started running through the halls of the house screaming "Woohoo!" at the top of his lungs.

I turned to Rose. "Are you sure he's really going to be turning twenty seven soon?" I asked.

She shrugged and then got up from the couch smiling. "All I know is that I'm going to go get some sleep. This guy really does get _excited_ when he's excited," she said with a wink. "And I don't think that I'll sleep much tonight after my nap."

"Thanks so much you guys. Edward's definitely my fave cousin," Jasper said.

"Hey!" Emmett called from in the hallway.

"Other than you Em," Jasper called back.

Alice and I turned to each other and laughed. "I wonder how much of a kid Edward will be. After growing up with Emmett, you've really got to wonder," I said.

* * *

"Rosalie, relax. How could he not like you? Have you even met yourself lately?" I tried to comfort my friend, but she was restlessly pacing in her bedroom.

"Bella, don't you get it? My entire relationship with Emmett hangs on whatever Edward thinks of me. Emmett lives for the guy!" she responded frantically.

_Time for plan B_. "Alright Rose. You are going to sit down on the edge of that bed right now before you create a hole in the floor that strangely resembles your feet. Next, you are going to take three deep breaths and then release them all slowly. Finally, you are going to get up, slowly walk over to that huge mirror that you can see your entire self in and say to yourself, 'No matter what this guy thinks, Emmett loves me and that won't change'."

Rosalie looked at me in disbelief, my stern tone unusual for me, but did as she was told.

Finally, she began to relax. "Thanks Bella. I really needed that."

"Anytime. Now get your fine ass down those steps and into the living room. He'll be here soon."

On cue, I heard the front door open and an unfamiliar voice call out, "LUCY! I'm ho-ome!"

Next thing I knew, the house was shaking as Emmett bounded down the hallway, sprinting on heavy feet and running down the steps to the front door.

"Hug me brotha!" his incredibly loud voice boomed.

I walked Rosalie calmly down the steps and saw the exchange between the two brothers as well as Jasper's silent, sneaky approach.

"Ethel, don't think I can't see you. What are you up to this time?" the unfamiliar, velvety voice warned jokingly.

"Hm, _I Love Lucy_ jokes. Alright, I'll bite," I said, finally reaching the three boys huddled at the front door.

Emmett's large figure moved to the side, revealing the ever amazing Edward Cullen.

My jaw dropped open at the incredible sight before me. His bronze hair sparkled in the afternoon sunlight that shone in from behind him through the open door, disheveled to perfection. His defined face was clean and beautiful. His bright green eyes bore deeply into mine, burning with an incredible intensity. His smile was shining white and dazzling me. He was tall and strong, I could easily tell, but did not have all the bursting muscles that you could see on his brother. He was gorgeous; a Greek god even. I stood before Adonis himself.

I realized I was gaping at him, though not before he noticed. He smiled his dazzling smile at me, a crooked grin that nearly had me melting in my shoes. I wanted to say something to him, but couldn't think of what. Fortunately, I was saved by Emmett, and I was forever in the man's debt.

"Edward, this is the love of my life, the most amazing girl I have ever known, and the most incredible woman to ever walk the Earth. This, is my Rosalie," Emmett said, wrapping his arms around Rose's waist and pulling her to him. She smiled and looked up at Emmett lovingly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rosalie. I'm thrilled that he's finally met someone who can put up with him," Edward said, extending his hand for Rose to shake.

"An honor to meet you as well, Edward. I've heard so much about you. Emmett hasn't stopped speaking highly of you since I first asked him about his family," she said smiling. "Oh! And before I forget, please call me Rose."

"Of course, Rose."

Then Emmett turned to me, seeming quite ecstatic that things were going well so far. "And this, my dear brother, is my baby sister, Bella."

I blushed as Emmett introduced me as his baby sister to his real baby brother. Edward look confused by the title, but extended his hand to me anyway.

"When did Mom have this one? I would have surely remembered," Edward said to Emmett.

"Emmett's really just like my big, overprotective brother who I never really had growing up. I love him like he was family," I said, taking Edward's hand in mine to shake it.

I gasped as I felt the electricity shoot from his hand and into mine. I pulled my hand back immediately and grasped it in my other behind my back. I turned my face to look at the floor.

"It's um nice to meet you as well Bella," Edward said to me.

I nodded. "I'm going to go and find Alice," I announced quietly and turned around quickly, making a run for the stairs. Some how I managed to get all the way up the steps and out of sight before I finally stumbled. Still, I kept myself front hitting the floor, and that was an accomplishment in itself.

I walked down the hall to Alice and Jasper's room. Opening the door, I found Alice standing in her silk robe with five different outfits sitting on the bed. "Alice?" I asked.

"I can't choose. I've got to be perfect. I know that Jasper isn't exactly the same with Edward as Emmett is, but I know that Edward still means a lot to him. I have to make the perfect first impression."

"Well, the fact that you're already five minutes late to meet him isn't helping that."

Her eyes widened. "Oh. My. God! You're right! I'm so stupid. Hurry Bella, help me pick!"

I grabbed the light green sundress off of the bed and the white strappy sandals. "Here. This one has always been my favorite," I said, handing her the clothing.

"You're a genius Bella!" she squealed as she ran for the bathroom.

"I try," I said, smiling as I left her room and walked toward mine.

When I finally reached the door, I twisted the knob, flung the door open, and shut it behind me as fast as was humanly possible.

Finally positive that I was safe behind locked doors, I laid out on my bed, grabbed my notebook, and began scribbling down the words that came to my mind.

I woke up to a banging on my door, not even realizing I had fallen asleep. The top paper from my notebook was stuck to my face, and when I got up and looked in the mirror to see what I looked like, I noticed that the ink of my writing had transferred onto my face.

_Great. Now I look like I wrote my story on my face…but backwards!_

I groaned.

"Bella? Are you alright in there?" Alice asked me from the other side of the door, concern lacing her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just fell asleep," I said as I walked over to my door. I opened in and walked out of my room. Alice hopped along beside me in her lovely green sundress and I suddenly felt very Plain Jane in my jeans and black T-shirt.

"Fall asleep on your writing again?" she asked cheerily.

"Yup," I said, still a little disoriented from my nap.

"Aren't you even going to try and wash that off your face?" she asked.

"Never came off any of the other times it happened. Can't imagine this time would be any different," I replied, smiling as I remembered that this was maybe the twenty third time that this had happened.

I walked into the dining room, knowing that at this time, everyone would be in there watching Emmett swallow up the entire dinner table.

When I arrived, all faces turned to me and all that were seated at the table burst into laughter. "Fell asleep while writing again Bells?" Emmett asked between laughing fits.

I smiled. "Yup. My notebook has become quite a comfortable pillow," I responded.

"How many times is this now?" Rose asked.

"Fifteen? Sixteen?" Jasper suggested.

"I was thinking twenty three, but I liked your numbers a little better, Jazz," I answered.

I looked at all my friends at the table as we laughed hysterically. When I came across one face, though, I immediately stopped laughing and looked down at my hands in my lap, blushing furiously.

"Oh come on Bells, it's not like lil Eddie hasn't done worse," Emmett said.

"Yeah," Jasper chimed in. "Hey Em, remember the time that he woke up, fully covered in make-up?"

"REMEMBER? I STILL HAVE PICTURES!" Emmett boomed.

"Oh no. Emmett I told you to burn those or I'd have your head!" Edward cried out.

"Oh yes! And I think that we should all pay a little visit to my 'Edward Photo Album'."

"Emmett? How many embarrassing photos do you have of me?"

"All of them," Emmett replied, grinning wickedly.

I looked at Edward, though not meeting his gaze, and smiled apologetically, knowing the torture that would ensue the second those photos were shown.

"Jessica really did you in that night," Emmett said to Edward. "She was truly one sad mistake."

"You could say that again," Edward mumbled.

Dinner held a fun tone, teasing and joking continuing throughout. I still couldn't bring myself to look into Edward's eyes, though. The intensity was too strong that I didn't know how anyone could remain standing under his gaze.

I helped Alice and Rose clear the table, though it was their night tonight. Cleaning up was easy considering that the boys had ordered pizza for our sustenance. When we were finished, we made our way into the living room and sat down on our usual couch. The Emmett and Jasper were sitting in their gaming seats in front of the TV, battling it out Halo style.

Rose grabbed her controller and plugged it into the fourth slot, the third taken by our spare controller.

Edward was playing as well, and making a killing. He had some pretty amazing yet brutal tactics.

"Take that!" he shouted when he finally killed off Rose's character.

I smiled. No one ever beat Rose.

The dumbfounded look on her face was absolutely priceless, and I was highly tempted to jump up and hug Edward for putting it there.

"I…I…I lost?"

"All hail the mighty Edward, new ruler of the Halo kingdom!" Alice cried out, bowing down at his feet.

I giggled. "We're not worthy, we're not worthy!" I cried out from where I sat alone on the sofa, continuing Alice's dramatic performance.

"Willst thou show thy king to thine's sleeping quarters?" Edward asked, looking at me as he did.

"I er…yeah sure," I said, a bit uneasy as I stood up from my seat.

"Hey Eddie! Don't pull a move on my innocent little Bella over there when she takes you to your room or you'll have to deal with me," Emmett said.

I began walking up the steps, knowing that Edward was about three feet behind me.

"Because of course we wouldn't want that, Emmett," Edward called back.

I arrived at the door to the guest room which we had set up for Edward to take residence in for the summer. It was our biggest one and Alice had really personalized it for him. When I opened the door, I noticed that Emmett had already brought all of Edward's things up here.

"So," I heard him say as he leaned up against the door frame. "A romance novelist? Very rare to come across these days."

"Yeah. It just sort of happened that way, I guess," I said, looking down at his shoes instead of at his face.

I knew I was being rude by not looking up at him, but I felt like an eight year old girl, talking to a cute boy who may or may not have had cooties.

"Really," he said, his voice thoughtful. "Pretty interesting."

He walked into the room and sat down on the edge of his bed. I leaned up against the door frame where he had just been standing. "I was at college, majoring in English and Literature. I had a real passion for writing and was in love with reading the classics. I decided to write a modern novel with a classic romance feel. I was twenty years old when it was published. I finished college while I continued writing, and my romance novels have been on the shelves ever since."

"I've read a few, actually," he said sheepishly.

I giggled. I knew I had a few men who read my books, but Edward didn't strike me as one of them.

"Which ones?" I asked.

"All of them," he said quietly, smiling a crooked grin at me.

"Really…" I said. "Well I hope you weren't disappointed."

"Far from. And I must say that _First Sight_ was my favorite. Probably the greatest book I've ever read."

"I loved writing that one. I spent three days without sleep because I was writing nonstop."

We both laughed and Edward pointed to the couch against the wall in the room. I stepped inside and sat down, making myself comfortable before looking back to Edward. The awkwardness I'd been feeling earlier was still there, but the shackling ice broke as Edward began asking me about my books.

"So you're going to be a doctor?" I asked, looking to continue the short conversation we'd just had.

"Yeah. It's like a dream come true," he said as he fell back onto his bed. I giggled. "Wait, I sounded like such a girl when I said that."

"You did, but don't worry, no embarrassing pictures to be used for further torture, reminding you of this moment," I said with a smile.

He chuckled. "I'm going to have to find that photo album and burn it before he shows anyone else what's in it."

"I'll go get it for you," I said, standing up from my seat.

"You know where it is?" Edward asked, jumping upright on the bed. His face looked absolutely mortified.

"Don't look so humiliated. Your looking at Bella Swan, Queen Klutz who woke up to find the ink from her writing got transferred to her cheek and is now backwards. Besides, that's about the best of it. I'm sure you'll find out all the stories from Emmett."

"I suppose I'll have to ask him about those," he said.

I reached the doorway and just as I was about to walk out the door, I turned my head around to take one last look. "And with that, I'll leave you to your evening. Get some sleep because I'm sure Alice has something planned for us that will require early rising. Tootles," I called out from where I was, now down the hall and in front of my door.

Slipping inside my room, I breathed a sigh of relief.

_This is not going to be an easy summer…_


	2. A Man's Perspective

**a/n: **The next chapter already...i know it's insane! this chapter is dedicated to my mom, mrs. flying-monkey (no that's not her real name) and mr. treefrog (not his real name either) because i would have never thought of the I Love Lucy jokes if it weren't for them. Mr. Treefrog actually calls my mom Lucy and Mr. Flying-Monkey Ethel (b/c it's some inside joke with them) and so i thought it'd be cute to include. I realize that Edward sounds a little obsessed about Bella in this chapter...but it's really that way. It's just kind of like she already seemed like such an amazing person to him before they even met, and now he's kind of amazed. He didn't go searching for articles about her. Sometimes there are articles in magazines and news papers about people and you come across them...which is how Edward read those articles. Alright. Any other questions should be asked if they come up in your minds... Love y'all!

**EDWARD'S POV**

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lucy. How's my favorite big brother doing?"

"_Edward!"_ Emmett boomed on the other end of the line. _"I'm great! How are you? What's new? Are you having fun now that school's over? Did you get any job offers yet? What are you doing this summer?..."_ Emmett was shooting so many questions at me that I could hardly keep up.

"I'm pretty great myself. Everything's new for me right now. I'm having about as much fun as one could have while spending the weekend with Mom and Dad here in Chicago. I did get a job offer for a hospital in Port Angeles. I'm apartment hunting and moving this summer," I said, pretty sure I'd managed to answer all that questions he'd been able to ask before I stopped him.

"_Port Angeles? Really? You know that's only an hour and a half from here, forty five minutes with your driving. Ain't that awesome?"_

"It's fantastic. It means I'll pretty much be up there a good amount of the summer scoping out the place and looking for an apartment and everything," I said, feeling pretty excited when I realized just how close I'd be to Emmett. I really missed being with him all day playing pranks on the neighbors and laughing our asses off into our sides hurt so badly that we wondered if we had broken something.

"_Hey. An idea just totally popped into my head."_

"Uh oh."

He laughed. _"Shut up, Edward. Normally I'd agree with you, but this one's actually good. We've got a plenty huge house here in Forks. You should come and spend the summer with us. You could meet my housemates and my girlfriend, all my friends. Get a real taste of the Washington world through the locals' eyes. I may not have been raised up here, but I've learned a lot from my buddies up here in the past six months. Jasper even lives here too, which I'm sure you know. It'll be like old times!! This is going to rock. Come on, Eddie, you gotta get your butt out here. It's no Chicago or California or New York City, but it really is sweet!"_

"Sounds like a great idea to me. I guess I'd better start packing then. I'll be up there in a week. I'll give you a little more information on that tomorrow when I figure stuff out," I said, not even having to think twice about the offer he'd just handed to me. "Good thinking, Em. Thanks"

"_Hey, no prob lil bro," _he said.

We continued on the phone for nearly an hour, Emmett and I rambling on about a lot of useless things that for some reason had the both of us interested intensely with what the other had to say.

When I finally hit end on the phone, I walked downstairs to talk with my parents.

"Mom? Dad?" I called out into the hallways of the large townhouse we all lived in.

"In here," they both called back from the kitchen.

I walked into the room casually, remembering what it was like to grow up in this house. Emmett and I had created so many messes in here that you needed a big crowd of people to count the times on your hands. I realized that this would be my last week taking up permanent residence in this home.

"So, I just got off the phone with Emmett," I said, a little nervous about telling this to my parents now, but probably smiling like a goofy idiot.

"So we've heard," Mom replied, amusement playing out in her eyes.

"He offered for me to stay the summer with him in Forks," I told them, deciding to just come right out and say what I needed to tell them.

"Good. It'll give you more than enough time to settle into the Washington life before you start your residency at the hospital," Dad said, nodding his head up and down.

"I took him up on the offer and figured I'd be leaving in about a week."

"You miss your brother, Edward, don't you?" Esme, aka Mom, asked me with a knowing smile. I nodded in response. "You know you could have visited him at any point if you wanted to. You never went out to visit him during breaks. Why is that?"

"I was always so busy. It was easy to be here on breaks because I was living here all through school. I already had all my school work here and spent all the time that I wasn't with you guys doing that work. You knew that already," I explained to my parents, feeling the guilt that always hit me when I thought about how I hadn't seen Emmett at all since I went to college. He came back a few times after he left for New York City to visit me, but I was still in high school. After that, I stopped having time to see him and he moved to California. Then he moved to Washington, and going to see him became an even harder task to attempt. By that time, though, I'd given up.

"I suppose. At least you get to go and spend the summer with him," Mom said, walking up to me and pulling me into an embrace.

I kissed her on the cheek. "I love you Mom. I'm going to miss you guys."

"You'll be alright, Edward. Just be sure to come back and visit us. Do you want me to call the movers to start sending your stuff up there?" Carlisle asked me, standing from his seat at the table and giving me a quick, fatherly hug.

"Yeah, just as soon as I call a storage warehouse. I don't think that they'll want all my stuff invading their home," I said, releasing my grip on my parents. "I think I'd better start setting everything up. I love you guys."

"We love you too Edward," Mom said.

* * *

I drove my Volvo up the winding drive. I pulled the car up in front of the house silently, trying to make the entrance that I knew would have Emmett grinning from ear to ear. I hadn't brought much of my own possessions with me in my car, almost all of them being put into a storage house thirty minutes away. All I had in the back were all of my clothes, three suitcases full actually, and my other necessities like my CDs, my books, and my toiletries. There were also a few photo albums in back, but they were probably going to stay hidden underneath all my clothes until I was sure that no one was around to see me hide them away in the closet or the dresser drawers.

Stepping out of my car, I quietly closed the door behind me. I stalked up the front steps of the grand white Victorian in front of me. The house was huge! I never imagined Emmett ever owning a place like this, even if he only owned a fifth of it.

I opened the front door, happy it was unlocked for me, and stepped into the doorway.

"LUCY! I'm ho-ome!" I called out into the seemingly empty house.

The ground began to shake and I was reminded of the only person who'd ever caused an earthquake just by bouncing up and down in excitement. Emmett appeared at the top of the steps and ran down them, taking four or five at a time.

Once he finally stood a foot away from me, he grabbed me and pulled me into a deathly bear hug, the ones that I remembered all too well. "Hug me brotha!" he boomed.

I chuckled as he lifted me off the ground and I wrapped my arms around him. I didn't care how gay or girly I looked, I really did miss my brother too much for that to matter.

I saw Jasper trying to sneak around Emmett to get behind me for a surprise attack, but I was too observant for him. "Ethel, don't think I can't see you. What are you up to this time?" I warned jokingly.

"Hm, _I Love Lucy_ jokes. Alright, I'll bite," I heard the voice of an angel say.

Emmett finally put me down and stepped to the side, revealing to me the most beautiful woman that I'd ever laid eyes on. Her brown hair flowed gracefully down to her shoulders, inviting the wind to blow through it, though there was no wind anywhere around. Her chocolate brown eyes were deep pools just inviting me to gaze into all day. Her heart shaped face had smooth, silky skin and I wondered what it'd feel like to run my fingers along such skin. A small smile was playing along luscious lips that were drawing my attention far more than they should have. Her body was stunning in jeans that hugged tightly to the lines of her legs and a black t-shirt which hugged every curve of her torso. She was more than perfect…an angel in her own right.

I realized I had to stop staring, but noticed that she was looking intently at me as well. I smiled at her and noticed a gentle blush creep across her cheeks. The color was stunning and looked amazing on her. I thought she was about to speak, but then Emmett saved the both of us.

"Edward, this is the love of my life, the most amazing girl I have ever known, and the most incredible woman to ever walk the Earth. This, is my Rosalie," Emmett said, wrapping his arms around Rosalie's waist and pulling her to him. She smiled and looked up at my brother affectionately.

She was a very beautiful woman, model looks hardly describing her, but I didn't feel that she compared to the angel who stood before us all.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rosalie. I'm thrilled that he's finally met someone who can put up with him," I said jokingly as I extended my hand out to hers. She shook it and then placed her hand on top of Emmett's, which was now on her stomach holding her to him.

"An honor to meet you as well, Edward. I've heard so much about you. Emmett hasn't stopped speaking highly of you since I first asked him about his family," she said smiling. "Oh! And before I forget, please call me Rose."

"Of course, Rose," I said, returning her radiant smile. I was about to tell her that she shouldn't do what Emmett does and call me 'Eddie', but then Emmett turned to the angel and I closed my mouth immediately, awaiting her introduction.

"And this, my dear brother, is my baby sister, Bella," he said ecstatically. That threw me for a loop. Baby sister? I didn't recall having a little sister, but I knew that Emmett must have had some loving joke with her. He always was a great big brother, and sometimes he desperately wanted a little sister to be a protector for.

I placed my hand out for Bella to shake. "When did Mom have this one? I would have surely remembered," I said, trying a joking tone, though I couldn't get my voice to change in such a manner because I was so mesmerized by the woman before me.

"Emmett's really just like my big, overprotective brother who I never really had growing up. I love him like he was family," Bella clarified in a melodious voice. She placed her hand in mine to shake it, but I felt a shock transfer from her hand, through mine, and all the way up my arm into my chest. At first I thought it was static electricity, but then I had no idea what it was. Bella gasped and withdrew her hand from mine in an instant. My hand felt cool with the absence of her heat, and my stomach did a flip as I clasped my hands in front of me.

Bella turned to look down at the floor, so I decided to speak first. "It's um nice to meet you as well Bella," I said, not sure what to say after what had just happened, feeling slightly dazed.

She nodded. "I'm going to go and find Alice," she voiced quietly. She took off in a dead run up the stairs and disappeared from view.

I looked to Emmett, Jasper, and Rose. The three just shrugged, not really sure of what just happened.

"Writers," Emmett mumbled as he walked out to my car and started grabbing my stuff.

"Wait. Bella? As in Isabella Swan?" I asked, remembering the author of the books I'd read.

Jasper nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"I…uh…just I've heard of her books," I responded, not feeling the need to explain to Jasper that she was one of my favorite authors and that I'd read all her books a few times over.

I was never the romance novel reading type, but one evening, I found it in my room and there was nothing else to do so I picked it and finished it within a few hours, hooked by the time I'd finished the first chapter.

I turned to go help Emmett get the things out of my car when I saw him coming in carrying all three suitcases and the box of books and CDs I'd brought with me.

"Muscle Man returns," I said. "You want help?"

"I'm good. This is all light weight lifting. I'll be back in few. Sit on the sofa and catch up with Jazz."

I did as I was told, enjoying everything Jasper was telling me. When a tiny little woman walked down the steps and hopped into Jasper's lap, I knew I'd just found little Alice.

"Edward, this is my fiancée, Alice Brandon," Jasper said, kissing Alice on the cheek tenderly.

"Hi Edward. Heard a lot about you lately. Apparently you're Jasper's favorite cousin," she said giggling.

"And I hear you're Jasper's favorite girl," I said. "How long have you guys been engaged?" I asked.

"A month and a half," she replied.

"Jazz, you never told me!" I whined, only half joking.

"Sorry buddy. I was a little busy with this ball of energy," he said.

"Pixie here has been making wedding plans nonstop since she said yes to him," Emmett said, walking in and talking a seat on the sofa next to Rose. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Not that I want to disrupt your little moments," I said, noticing that both the couples before me were having minute make out sessions. "But I was wondering if we could get some dinner. I haven't eaten since breakfast and it is already six."

"Sure," Jasper said, breaking away from Alice's lips. "Pizza?"

"Sounds good."

"The usual?" he asked, a wicked smile on his face.

"Come on, Ethel. Do you really want the girls scared of me the same night they meet me?" I asked teasingly.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Hey Lucy, let's go get two pepperonis and two cheeses," I said to Emmett, still sucking face with Rose.

"Get it yourself," he mumbled against Rose's lips. I chuckled and stood up after Jasper, following him into the kitchen.

"Ever the one for PDA," I said.

"Which PDA?" Jasper asked.

"Affection," I said, remembering our little jokes. Public Display of Abuse, as we liked to call it when Emmett pulled his childish pranks…the ones that were a little harsh that is.

One phone call and thirty minutes worth of conversation later, the doorbell rang.

I stood up and walked over to the door. "I got this," I called back to Jasper and Emmett, knowing that they wouldn't stop me once I called it.

"That'll be thirty dollars please," the pizza delivery boy said.

I handed him the money and took the four pizzas and the bottle of Sprite that were held out to me.

"Enjoy your evening," the boy said as he walked to his red, green, and white car.

I brought it into the dining room having noticed that everyone had vacated the living room.

"Here we go," I said, dropping the boxes on the table's surface. Rose went to go get cups from the kitchen and quickly returned with six wine glasses and Margarita Flavoring Mix.

"Mix it in with the Sprite," she said, handing me the green apple flavoring. "Tastes great."

I poured Sprite into each glass and added the mix to the soda as I was instructed.

"Oh! Wait. Bella's still upstairs. I'll go get her," Alice said, jumping up from her seat.

A minute later, a pixie and an angel were walking down the stairs and into the dining room, the angel a bit disoriented from her short nap.

Everyone burst into a fit of laughter as they saw Bella enter the room, and when I looked up to see the cause of their hysterics, I couldn't help but join in.

"Fell asleep writing again Bells?" Emmett asked between snorts.

She only smiled. "Yup. My notebook has become quite a comfortable pillow."

"How many times is this now?" Rose asked.

"Fifteen? Sixteen?" Jasper suggested.

I smiled at the fact that this seemed to be a regular occurrence. Apparently, it never got old.

"I was thinking twenty three, but I like your numbers a little better, Jazz," Bella replied.

She began laughing at herself along with the rest of us as she looked from face to face. When her eyes fell upon mine, her musical giggles immediately stopped and she looked down at her lap. I could see her blush, but only barely as her hair hid much of her face from my view.

"Oh come on Bells, it's not like lil Eddie hasn't done worse," Emmett said.

"Yeah," Jasper chimed in. "Hey Em, remember the time that he woke up, fully covered in make-up?"

"REMEMBER? I STILL HAVE PICTURES!" Emmett boomed.

"Oh no. Emmett I told you to burn those or I'd have your head!" I cried out, feeling my face heat up as I remembered the photos he'd taken. That was not one of the highlights of my life, but everyone else certainly had a good laugh out of it. I knew at the beginning I should have never said yes to Jessica in high school, but I did. Then I knew I should have broken things off a lot sooner, but I didn't. She was so crushed, that she came back in the middle of the night and smothered make up all over my face in an act of revenge and then took pictures which were plastered all over the hallways that next Monday morning.

"Oh yes! And I think that we should all pay a little visit to my 'Edward Photo Album'."

"Emmett? How many embarrassing photos do you have of me?"

"All of them," Emmett replied, grinning wickedly.

Bella looked up at me, though avoiding eye contact, and smiled apologetically. She probably knew Emmett's full wrath as well as I did when it came to thoroughly embarrassing somebody.

"Jessica really did you in that night," Emmett said to me. "She was truly one sad mistake."

"You could say that again," I mumbled.

Dinner continued in the same fun atmosphere, though I was completely distracted by Bella, who was sitting directly across from me at the table.

_What was with that shock that I felt earlier? Did she feel it too? Was this really the same woman I'd read about in the news paper and magazines as her books were published? Was there more to her? How had I been so lucky to meet such a talented person? Such an angel? What else could be learned about Bella? _These thoughts ran through my head all meal, until finally Bella consumed all my thought processes.

After dinner, Emmett, Jasper, and I played mindless, violent video games. Rose even joined in. She was the best opponent I'd ever played against, but I still had her beat in record timing.

"Take that!" I exclaimed immaturely, not realizing how absorbed I'd been in the game.

She looked absolutely astonished. "I…I…I lost?"

"All hail the mighty Edward, new ruler of the Halo kingdom!" Alice cried out, bowing down at my feet.

I heard Bella giggle. "We're not worthy, we're not worthy!" she cried out from where she sat alone on the sofa, continuing Alice's dramatic performance.

"Willst thou show thy king to thine's sleeping quarters?" I asked Bella, looking directly at her so that there was no mistaking who I was pointing the question toward.

"I er…yeah sure," she said, a bit nervously as she stood from her seat.

"Hey Eddie! Don't pull a move on my innocent little Bella over there when she takes you to your room or you'll have to deal with me," Emmett said.

I followed Bella up the stairs, walking only a few short steps behind her. "Because of course we wouldn't want that, Emmett," I called back over my shoulder to Emmett.

Bella opened the door for me and stepped in tentatively. I leaned up against the doorway, seeing that the guest room looked perfect for me and that my things were placed in the corner. "So, a romance novelist? Very rare to come across these days," I commented.

"Yeah. It just sort of happened that way, I guess," she said, looking down at my shoes instead of at my face.

I felt almost hurt by the fact that all evening she'd refused to look me in the eye. I felt like I had a disease or something. "Really," I said, my voice thoughtful. "Pretty interesting."

I then walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Bella took my spot leaning on the doorframe and began to explain. "I was at college, majoring in English and Literature. I had a real passion for writing and was in love with reading the classics. I decided to write a modern novel with a classic romance feel. I was twenty years old when it was published. I finished college while I continued writing, and my romance novels have been on the shelves ever since."

"I've read a few, actually," I said sheepishly.

She giggled. Giggled!

"Which ones?" she asked, seeming to perk up and feel more comfortable.

"All of them," I replied quietly, smiling a crooked grin.

"Really…" she said. "Well I hope you weren't disappointed."

"Far from. And I must say that _First Sight_ was my favorite. Probably the greatest book I've ever read."

"I loved writing that one. I spent three days without sleep because I was writing nonstop."

We both laughed and I pointed to the couch against the wall in the room. She understood what I was asking and stepped inside the room, taking the seat on the sofa and making herself comfortable before looking back to me. The unease I'd been feeling earlier was still there, but the shackling ice broke as we began speaking about her books.

"So you're going to be a doctor?" she asked, changing the subject to me.

"Yeah. It's like a dream come true," I said, falling back on the bed. She giggled again. "Wait, I sounded like such a girl when I said that."

"You did, but don't worry, no embarrassing pictures to be used for further torture, reminding you of this moment," she assured me with a smile.

I chuckled. "I'm going to have to find that photo album and burn it before he shows anyone else what's in it."

"I'll go get it for you," she said, standing up from the black leather couch.

"You know where it is?" I asked, jumping upright on the bed. I was once again completely mortified, only this time feeling even more embarrassed. Emmett was so dead.

"Don't look so humiliated. Your looking at Bella Swan, Queen Klutz who woke up to find the ink from her writing got transferred to her cheek and is now backwards. Besides, that's about the best of it. I'm sure you'll find out all the stories from Emmett."

"I suppose I'll have to ask him about those," I said, feeling a bit comforted by her words.

"And with that, I'll leave you to your evening." She took one last look at me before walking out of the room. Half way down the hallway she called something else out to me. "Get some sleep because I'm sure Alice has something planned for us that will require early rising. Tootles."

I heard a door open and close, which I assumed was Bella slipping into her room to finish off her evening in peace as well.

I sighed as I stood up from the bed. I closed the door of my room and opened up my suitcase. I pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and threw them onto the bed. I took of my jeans and button down shirt, folding them and putting them on top of the dresser before putting the shorts on.

Now that I was in comfortable clothes, I went over to my box of CDs and books. I pulling out my walkman and checked to make sure my Debussy CD was in it. I put on the head phones and pressed play before going back into the box.

I was disappointed when I remembered that I'd left _First Sight_ out in the passenger seat of my car. I didn't feel like going to grab it and so I decided on one of my other favorites.

Pulling out the book, I read the cover. "_A Man's Perspective_ by Isabella Swan."

I plopped down on the bed and opened to the first page, ending my first night here in Forks on a good note.

But as I read, I realized that I couldn't focus on the book, but on the author who was only a matter of steps down the hall from where I was at the moment.

_This is going to be a great summer…_


	3. Something Inside of Me

**a/n:** This is the next chapter. I'm glad you guys are liking this because that makes me smile like Emmett. I've got the pictures of Bella's outfit on my profile if you guys want to see it. I think it's very pretty-ful. TTYL 3

**EDWARD'S POV**

"Edward," a hyper little voice whisper yelled. A hand was placed on my shoulder and began shaking me. "Wake up sleepy head."

"Five more minutes, Mom," I said, turning further onto my side, hiding my head in my pillow.

I heard a tiny little giggle. "Come on buddy. It's seven in the morning. Time to get up for a day of fun…Alice style!"

I groaned, realizing that not only was I being forced to wake up against my will, but it was also only 7 AM.

_Not cool._

I opened my eyes slowly, the lids still heavy with sleep. Alice was sitting pretzel-style on the side of the bed, wide awake and ready to start the day.

"There. Now with that out of the way, it's time for you to get up and out of your bed."

"You know Alice, you have too much perkiness for one tiny girl like you to contain. It's seriously unhealthy," I said to her, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"I know. You'll come to love that about me though," she chirped happily. "Now, throw on your swim trunks, a t-shirt, and flip flops. I'll be back in ten minutes to push your tush downstairs to start your first ever day planned out by the Queen of Fun."

She hopped up off the bed and skipped out the door. "Why does that scare me so much that I'm near peeing my pants?" I asked myself.

Finally managing to be half awake, I got off the bed and walked over to my suitcases. Running my hand through my hair, I tried to remember which case I'd packed my swim trunks in. I remembered they were in my green bag. Opening it up, I dug through it until I found my plain black trunks in the mess of clothes.

I changed into them, walked over into the bathroom that was attached to my room, and brushed my teeth. My hair was more of a mess than usual, but I knew that I couldn't do anything about that.

I went back to my suitcase and grabbed a white t-shirt and flip flops. Alice came into my room just as I had finished and checked my appearance. Satisfied with what I'd put on, she grabbed my hand and dragged me into the hallway and down the steps.

"Morning," three voices said to me as I entered the kitchen.

Laughing at the chorus of voices, I took an empty seat at the counter. "Do you guys have that rehearsed?" I asked. "Or does it just happen naturally?"

"They practice every night, just to be sure they have it down to the G, on the off chance that they'd ever needed to greet you in such a way, Edward," a musical, angelic voice replied as Bella entered the kitchen.

"Morning to you too, Bells," Emmett said, his voice conveying his sleep deprivation. Her melodious laugh followed his comment and I couldn't keep the smile from creeping across my face.

_She was her own choir of angels in every sound she made…_

**BELLA'S POV**

"Bella," my favorite little pixie said as she shook the living daylights out of me.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I pleaded with her as my eyes fluttered open.

"Good. I set your suit and cover up out on the counter in your bathroom. Hurry up and get ready. You know how much you love me and my fun days."

I laughed. "You know, I loved you so much until that wake up call," I teased.

"You'll love me even more when you see the new bathing suit I got you from work," she said with a smile.

I groaned. "Does it cover at least twenty percent of my body?" I asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, Bella. Why don't you put it on and then you can do the math."

"Fine. So, where are we headed today, oh masterful day-planning one?" I asked.

"The beach."

"Can I bring a book?"

"You can, but you won't get the chance to read it."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Even teams," was all she replied with as she ran out of my room. I didn't have the chance to protest her before she shut the door.

_Great. Thanks to Edward McPerfectPants, I have to play their stupid games today._

I groaned as I stood up and walked to my bathroom. Without paying much attention, I threw on the suit and cover up that Alice had set out for me. Looking in the mirror, I saw the light blue and brown bikini she placed me. I allowed my dark blue cover up dress fall back down over my suit, feeling more comfortable with a little bit more of my skin covered up. Finally, I grabbed the sandals that she'd set out for me and put them on my feet. They were white and strappy. (a/n: pictures are all on the profile)

_Not too bad altogether,_ I thought.

I brushed out my hair quickly and threw it up into a low pony on the back of my head. I brushed my teeth and grabbed my big, white-framed sunglasses, putting them on the top of my head.

I started perking up as I saw the beautiful day it was outside. I nearly skipped down the hall and almost jumped down the steps as I made my way to the kitchen, emphasis on _nearly_ and _almost_. It was seven in the morning, I most definitely wasn't Alice.

"Morning," I heard while I was still on the steps. This of course came from the mouths of Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper.

Then I heard a beautiful chuckle and velvet voice tease the three on their unity. "Do you guys have that rehearsed? Or does it just happen naturally?"

Knowing that it was too early for most of them to really process something to snap back at Edward, I happily responded for them as I entered into the kitchen. "They practice every night, just to be sure they have it down to the G, on the off chance that they'd ever needed to greet you in such a way, Edward."

"Morning to you too, Bells," I heard Emmett grumble. I laughed at him, hearing the lack of sleep in his tone. Emmett never was one to wake up early for Alice's antics.

"Alright, guys. Eat up. Can't go to the beach on an empty stomach," Alice said, retrieving the pancakes from Jasper and placing them on the already-set table.

Emmett didn't need to be told twice, and hearing about the beach had Rose hopping into a seat at the table right along with him. Alice took her rightful seat and so did Jasper. Edward took the empty seat between Emmett and Jasper. Decided to skip the pancakes and go straight for my morning coffee and a nice bowl of Frosted Cheerios.

Now, coffee in hand, I sat down at the counter and picked up the news paper. The weather outlook looked more than perfect for our plans for today and I smiled happily. I took a bite of my cereal and drank another sip of my coffee.

"Mmmm," I quietly murmured to myself.

"Hey, Pixie, you got everything packed?" Emmett asked, his words construed by the food in his mouth.

"First of all, yes. Second of all, do you really need to ask? And third, and last, of all, didn't your mother ever teach you not to speak with your mouthful, as well as chew with your mouth shut?" Alice scolded.

"Yes she did and yes she did," Edward chimed in.

"Well, apparently those are of the lessons that didn't stick," Rose said.

I giggled into my coffee mug.

"Hey Bells! What's got you giggling over there? Come and join the family, why don't you," Emmett said, transferring the spot light from me to him.

"Bella," Alice warned.

"Oh please, Alice. I'm just enjoying my morning coffee in peace," I defended, turning in my seat at the counter to face the kitchen table.

"Not that the three feet of distance really makes a difference," Edward added.

I glared at him. _Do you really think it's a smart idea to cross me like that when I'm being scolded by Alice?_ I asked him in my head, willing him to read my thoughts.

"Bella, you sit your beautiful little booty down in this chair right now or I will make you wear one of the other bikinis I got for you from work," Alice said, narrowing her eyes at me.

Afraid of what the other bathing suits, or the near lack there of, could look like, I promptly stood from my seat and made my way over to the empty seat, taking the extra caution not to spill any coffee or trip while I did so. "Happy?" I asked.

"Very," she replied, turning back to the stack of pancakes on her plate. For such a little person, she sure could eat a lot.

"Fantastic," I muttered, setting my mug on the table in front of me and sinking down into my seat. I felt a little claustrophobic being squished into such a small spot, Emmett's elbow nearly jabbing into my face every single time he went to caught his sausage.

"Kay guys. It's seven thirty!" Alice said, jumping up from her seat. "Time to head out!"

We all complied with her wishes and made our way out to the cars.

"Driving arrangements?" I asked.

"Guys take the Jeep, girls take the BMW," Rose replied.

* * *

A very short drive later, we were all at the La Push Beach. Alice ran and snagged us the perfect spot, plopping down on the sand to save it until the guys would arrive with all the stuff.

I spotted Emmett first, carrying all six beach chairs in his arms. Behind him was Jasper carrying the cooler with our lunch and he had one of our beach bags slung over his shoulder…the one with the towels and sunscreen.

Edward walked sexily behind Jasper carrying the beach bag with all the games and sports stuff, the umbrella, and the bag with our changes of clothes…in case there was ever a need.

_Did I just say Edward was walking SEXILY?_

I mentally slapped myself. Now was so not the time to start thinking about some guy.

The chairs dropped down on the sand. "Alright girls. Let's start setting this stuff up," Emmett said as he began setting up out chairs in the usual circle, making it a little bigger to allow for Edward's chair to fit.

* * *

"Over here!" Alice called from where she stood in the sand. Actually, it was more like where she was bouncing up and down like a bunny (a/n: sorry for all the bunny references in this story…I don't know why that animal keeps coming up) while she waited for someone to throw her the Frisbee.

I decided to try and opt out of this game, unsuccessfully, and so now I just stood off to the side as much as possible in the hopes that no one would throw the Frisbee to me and I wouldn't end up heading to the ER with a broken nose or something.

"Bella, catch!" Emmett shouted as the Frisbee came hurdling toward me.

I let out a small squeak as the plastic disk slammed me in the shoulder. "Alright. I'm done with this game," I said as I walked back over to our seats and sat down.

"Nice going Em," Rose said as she smacked him upside the head.

I laughed to myself as I grabbed a few ice cubes out of the cooler. "You get him Rose!" I cheered her on.

She turned to me and smiled. Then she looked at Alice and as they had a silent conversation, I wondered what they were discussing.

"Okay, boys. Sit yourselves down and grab a drink. It's time to play the infamous Twenty Questions!" Alice exclaimed, flying over the sand to our seats.

Everyone did as they were told, some grabbing sodas while others grabbed beers or wine coolers.

"So, we owe this round today to Edward over here. Thus, he has to be the first to answer during every round. Since the rest of us know the rules already, I'll just give Edward a quick overview of 'em. You have to answer the questions, as does everyone else. We all answer every round. Be truthful, 'cause lying will get your butt kicked out of our little circle of trust here. And, lastly, there is to be NO use of the information learned here for utter humiliation. Cough cough Emmett cough cough," Alice explained.

The last rule was our most recently added one, thanks to Emmett's game playing after the last round we all played.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I laughed at the last part of Alice's rules. Of course Emmett would find someway of turning this fun little game into his own personal humiliating information files.

"Cool. I'm in," I said, and everyone voiced their agreement as well.

"So, I'll start," Alice said. "Question number one, who's your best friend?"

"That's easy," I said, though I knew that everyone else would start laughing at my answer. "My piano."

As promised, they were all laughing. After they were done, it was Bella's turn to answer. "Alice and Rose."

Emmett's turn was next. "Jasper."

"Alice and Bella," Rose announced.

"Emmett," Jasper said.

"Everybody sitting in this circle right now," Alice chirped.

"Minus me of course," I noted to her.

"For now, yes, but I have a feeling that it won't be long before you're added to that list too."

"Oh god, Pixie and her creepy future feelings," Emmett said.

"Next question!" Alice said.

"Alright. Question number two. What's your current dating status?" Jasper asked.

Simple enough of a question. "Single," I said.

"Single," Bella said. For some reason, that answer made me smile.

"Taken and in love," Emmett said, squeezing Rosalie's hand.

"Ditto," she said.

"Engaged," Jasper said.

"Same here," Alice said smiling. She leaned over in her chair and quickly planted a kiss on my cousin's cheek. They made a cute couple.

"My turn!" Rose exclaimed. "Alright, question number three. What's your job?"

"I'll be starting as a doctor in September," I said.

"Novelist," Bella said.

"Personal trainer, soon-to-be gym owner."

"Car design," came from Rose.

"Psychiatrist," Jasper said.

"Personal shopper slash clothing designer," Alice said.

"Question number four," Emmett said, rubbing his hands together deviously. "Where and when was your first time?"

I rolled my eyes. "Only you would ask that question Emmett."

"Yup, but somebody has to."

"Fine. The Holiday Inn, room number three-twelve in Chicago. Junior year of high school," I said, answering his question.

"No way!" Emmett said.

"Way," I answered.

"Bella's turn!" Emmett nearly squealed.

"Mine, Alice's, and Rose's dorm room, just before freshman year ended."

"Sophomore year of high school, on vacation in Hawaii for spring break, in the surf shack," Emmett beamed proudly.

"So that's what was with you the rest of the week," I said.

"Yup," he answered, looking like he was in a dreamlike state.

"Junior year of high school, in my bedroom," Rose continued.

"My twenty first birthday in Vegas," Jasper said, blushing a bit.

"Just after high school graduation on a cruise," Alice answered, looking just as embarrassed as Jasper.

"Question number five," Bella said. "What's your favorite lame pickup line?"

I laughed. Oh this was going to be a great one. "Help the homeless…Take me home with you."

"Let's have a party and invite your pants to come on down," Bella said, nearly falling out of her seat as she laughed.

"I think I'm falling in bed with you," Emmett said.

"If I was a watermelon, would you spit of swallow my seed?" Rose answered as she began to laugh too.

"The word…of the day…is "legs". Let's go back to…my place and…spread the word," Jasper said between laughing fits.

"If you were a door I would slam you all night long," Alice managed to say with a straight face and then broke out into giggles.

The game continued on like this until nine rounds later.

"Question fourteen. Past loves…AKA past boyfriends and girlfriends with real significance. Name them?" Emmett gave us all his question.

"Suzy Cranston, Alexandra Simpson, and Cynthia Frickles," I said. Emmett's laughter boomed as he recalled two of the three girls I names.

I turned to Bella, waiting for her answer, but she seemed to pale. She looked upset even. I turned to Alice and Rose and they were having one of those girl moments where they communicated telepathically. The concerned looks on their faces made me wonder what was wrong. Finally, they turned back to the group.

"Alright Emmett, your turn to answer," Rose said, shooting him a dirty glare.

"But it's Bella's turn," he whined.

"Emmett," Rosalie growled out a warning.

"Fine…"

* * *

As the sun began to set, Rose and Emmett sat down over by a tree at the edge of the beach together for some alone time. Alice and Jasper decided to take a walk along the water's edge, slowly stepping hand in hand through the wet sand.

This left Bella and I in our seats. I was about to strike up a conversation with her when she pulled a beach blanket out of one of the bags. She laid it out flat just outside the circle of chairs and took a seat on it.

She'd taken her hair down after we'd gone in the water and it had just finally dried. She put the dark blue cover up dress back on and it looked absolutely stunning on her. She looked positively beautiful as she sat on her right sight, her legs some one extended but still bent as they lay one on top of the other. Her upper body was help up and supported by her right arm, her right hand set firmly on the blanket. Her left arm rested gently along her body, her left hand sitting on her knee. She was looking up at the sky, watching the sunset.

I took a seat next her, sitting pretzel-style on the blanket and leaning back, supporting my wait with my arms behind me. I looked up at the sky and sunset with her. The orange sun was beginning its descent behind the trees that were off in the distance. The sky played out numerous beautiful colors. The oranges, pinks, and purples that presented themselves behind the cream-colored clouds swirled with the fading light.

I turned to look at Bella. The wind blew gently through her shoulder length hair. I recalled how I'd described her hair as 'inviting the wind to blow through it'. I was a bit envious of the breeze that caressed the sparkling strands, wishing that I could be the one to brush my fingers through.

_Hold up Edward. What were you just thinking?_

I was suddenly reminded of the question that she'd dodged earlier during our rounds.

"Tell me," I whispered to her.

"Tell you what?" she asked in the same whisper. Her voice was serene, peaceful.

"Why didn't you answer that question earlier?"

"What question?" she asked, her tone a little less kind.

"The one that Emmett asked earlier. Alice didn't make you answer," I said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I have a feeling you do," I said softly.

She sighed. "It's a long story."

I looked around to my brother and my cousin, noticing that neither of them looked like they'd be done with their girlfriends anytime soon. "I think we've got the time."

She turned to look at me. I looked into her amazing brown eyes and saw all the pain hidden in them. She quickly turned back to look out to the water again and hid her emotions behind a mask…a stone wall that I suddenly felt myself wanting to break away.

**BELLA'S POV**

I was so angry with Emmett for bringing that question up. He knew the story, and he knew the pain that it brought me every time I thought about it. Now, I was going to have to explain it once again. And to Edward.

I usually did my best to avoid telling people, changing the subject as quickly as possible, but for some reason, something inside of me was screaming for me to tell him.

So that's what I decided to do. I decided that I would allow the pull that I felt when I was near him, the energy that surged through me when I heard his voice, to take control and to tell him. I sensed he was different from everyone else, that he should know the truth.

"Ever since I was in diapers, Jacob and I were best friends. We were inseparable. We were always at the other's house and didn't do anything without the other with them. Every decision we made, every chance we took, the other shared in its consequences and benefits. We supported each other through all the good times and the bad. He was like my brother. We weren't just in the other's life; we were the other's life. As time went on, our feelings for each other only grew, and not in just one sense. At first we were just growing closer, never being able to imagine the future without the other. But then there was something more between us. The sibling-like love we had for each other grew into romantic feelings. Finally, after we graduated high school, we gave those feelings a try, because what could be better than falling in love with your best friend? We were both going to Seattle for college, and so nothing really changed there except for fewer distractions from the people we knew.

"I gave him everything, and he always gave back. We were twenty years old when he proposed. It was absolutely perfect, too. The night that my book was put onto the top seller's list, Jacob took me out to a really expensive restaurant, and right before dessert came, he got down on one knee. He told how long he'd been wanting to ask me, but couldn't find the right time. He decided that it was that night he wanted to ask me. I said yes, of course. We were engaged for almost a year, when things started to change. I continued to give him everything, but he gave back less and less as the days passed.

"I could see something was wrong. He always looked distant, or upset. I knew he was hiding something from me, and every time that I'd ask him about it, he'd tell me it was nothing and storm out of where ever we were, slamming the door shut behind him. When I'd finally had enough of him not answering me, I asked him to come over to my dorm one night." I let out a gentle laugh, one full of sorrow, and curled up into a ball, hugging my legs tightly to my chest and resting my chin on my knees. "I remember that night all too vividly."

**(FLASHBACK)**

_There was a knock on my door and I took a deep breath before going to open it up. I knew exactly who it was, and I knew that I'd get an answer out of him tonight, no matter what it took._

_I was greeted by a kiss on the lips from the love of my life. The kiss no longer had the spark it did long ago. I knew something wasn't right when the passion disappeared, but I'd ignored it. Jake and I were meant to be together forever, that I knew._

"_Jake, come and sit down," I said, motioning to the sofa._

_He stepped through the door, that same distant expression on his face. I shut the door and locked it, knowing that it wouldn't be enough to keep him in the room, but enough to keep him for one second longer._

_He patted the cushion beside him on the couch, but I shook my head no. I stood in front of the door, blocking his only exit as I said, "We need to talk."_

_His face dropped, the distant expression turning to a pained one._

"_Jacob, you know I love you, but it's killing me to see you like this. You've lost the life that's in you, yet you refuse to tell me why."_

"_Bella, it's nothing. You know I love you too and if something were wrong, I'd tell you."_

"_I want to believe that's true, but my heart is screaming that you're hiding something important from me. I've known you since you were born, Jake. This isn't the real you."_

"_Bella," he sighed. "Bella, I love you, but it's not the same any more."_

_I could feel the tears building in my eyes, but I held them back, not wanting to hurt Jacob in any way. "I've noticed," I whispered._

"_I'm sorry," he said. "But, I just can't go on like this anymore."_

"_I've noticed," I repeated. I looked down at the floor, trying to gain some composure so that I didn't break down in front of him. I loved Jacob enough to let him break away without knowing how hurt I really was._

"_Look at me," he whispered. I looked up, meeting his intense gaze. "Bella, it isn't your fault. It's mine. You've been more than good to me, and recently I've done nothing but pull away."_

"_I've noticed," was all I seemed to be able to say, repeating it once again._

"_But I'm not meant to be with you. I'm never one to say something like 'it wasn't written in the stars for us', you know that Bells. It's just that, we weren't meant to be this way."_

"_Jake," I whispered not wanting to ask the question that I knew I was about to. "Is there someone else?"_

"_I've never cheated on you Bella, that's not me. You know who I am, that I would never do something like that to you. But, the thing is, that there is someone else. I don't know how to describe it, but there's like a gravitational pull between us, one that I can't ignore any longer. It was like her entire being was imprinted into my soul by some greater powers," he told me._

"_I understand," I responded. "I want you to be happy Jake."_

"_Bella, I'll always love you," he told me._

"_And I'll always love you as well, but you need to leave now," I whispered, stepping away from the door._

_He turned the lock slowly, his head down, staring at the floor. He turned the doorknob, but before opening the door he said, "I'm sorry Bella. I'm so so sorry."_

_With that, he left, and I collapsed on the floor, trying to hold myself together with the only threads left in my life after he'd stepped through the door._

**(END FLASHBACK)**

"I've never dated any other guy. I lost so much that night. I lost my best friend, my lover, my fiancée, my future, my heart. He was my first everything. I lost it all. I was lucky that Alice and Rosalie were there to help me pick up all the pieces that were left."

**EDWARD'S POV**

I felt my heart breaking as I listened to Bella's story. How could someone do so much to one girl? To Bella?

"Do you not trust any other guy?" I asked before I could even think the words through. I wanted to know the answer of course, because my entire being was telling me that I wanted more than just a simple friendship with this amazing woman.

"That's not it. I just never decided when the right time was to put my heart back out there. Everything in my life fell back into place eventually. I was finally happy, and didn't feel the need to take the risk of changing that. I decided that if I ever felt what Jacob did, I'd take that chance, but I'd never try to force that feeling to come."

She closed her eyes slowly, carefully, and then opened them again. A single tear rolled down her soft cheeks and I moved myself so that I was now positioned in front of her, blocking her view of the water.

"Hey," I said softly, comfortingly. I reached out and gently wiped the stray tear away, feeling that electrical shock run through me again. "I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't realize you had such a hurtful story to tell."

"It's okay," she said, a small but genuine smile touching her soft lips. "Something inside of me told me it was right to let you know."

"I'll always be around to listen if you have something to speak about," I told her, returning the beautiful smile she had with a crooked one of my own.

She laughed, this one a little happier than the last. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime," I said.


	4. Movies, Chinese Food, & Staring Contests

**a/n: **So, here's the next update. Really long one too. But, from now on, if you guys want me to update, I'm going to need about 20 reviews. And, believe me, I can wait as long as necessary to get those. Yes, I am just that evil. I'm working hard on these so I hope you like it. The truth is, that I'm enjoying writing it as much as I enjoy reading other FanFics. It's a lot of fun :D...So, enjoy the chapter.

**EDWARD'S POV**

_She told me, _I thought to myself for the hundredth time tonight. _She told me with hardly even a second thought. She'd known me for maybe 24 hours and yet she still felt comfortable enough to share the pain she'd been through. In fact, she said she'd wanted to tell me. That something inside of her said it was right to let me know._

I'd been lying in bed for hours, just running the same thoughts through my head, over and over and over again. I hardly knew this woman, but there was just something about her that kept her on my mind every waking moment.

My feelings for her were unclear, that was for sure, and they were lurking in the territory that I'd never really known. I was honestly confused and really had no clue what it was I felt for this woman. All I knew, though, was that it was nothing like anything else. The feelings were nothing I'd ever known, but something I'd like to know better.

I turned onto my side and pressed the side of my face deeper into my pillow. I had to get some rest or I'd never survive tomorrow. Closing my eyes, I allowed my mind to finally rest and for sleep to overcome me.

In my dreams, I was brought back to the beach in La Push.

"_What is it, Love?" I asked her._

"_Edward, I love you," she whispered back to me._

"_Then why are you crying?" I asked her._

_She smiled the breathtaking smile that I'd loved from the moment it first appeared on her beautiful face. "Because I'm unbelievably happy."_

"_But…"_

"_But nothing. Tears of joy, Edward. Tears of joy."_

_I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her body into mine, loving the way that she fit perfectly where she was. Like she was made for me. We were made for each other._

"_Do you know how great it feels to have finally gotten that ring on your finger?" I asked her._

"_About as good as it feels to be the one wearing it," she answered, kissing my cheek._

"_Love?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Stay with me forever," I whispered into her ear._

"_Always."_

_I looked into her eyes, knowing that she was speaking the truth._

_As I leaned my head down, hers tipped further up toward mine. Our lips met, and the electric shock that never went away since that first touch, coursed through my veins._

My cell phone ringing broke me out of my dreams. I looked over at the bedside table and red the bright red numbers flashing on the digital clock. _9.12 AM. Exactly the time I wanted to wake up on a summer morning...not._

I reluctantly untangled myself from the sheets and walked over to my dresser. I bent down to the floor and picked my cell phone up, unplugging it from the charger.

I checked the caller ID and groaned. _Tanya._

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Hey there. How's your summer going?"_

"Fine. Yours?"

"_Good. I got the job at the Chicago Hospital. I started a week and a half ago. It's really stressful."_

I stifled the groan that threatened to pour into the phone. I knew what that meant. Tanya and I had a mutual understanding all throughout med school. When things got stressful and one of us needed some sort of release, the other was around to provide a little pleasure, no strings attached.

"That's too bad," I said politely.

"_It really is. So, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to come over to my apartment tonight after my shift and we could…" _she trailed off suggestively.

I knew that the reason I was about to say no wasn't exactly because I was two thousand miles away from her, but seeing as I really wasn't sure about my feelings right now, I decided to go with the safer excuse.

"I'm not exactly in Chicago right now," I told her.

"_Oh, well, when are you getting back? We could arrange for something then."_

"The thing is, I'm not exactly getting back."

"_What do you mean?"_

"Well, you know how I was going to be working in a hospital in Washington, right?"

"_Yeah?"_

"My big brother kind of lives up there, and he offered to let me stay the summer with him, my cousin, and their friends. So, I took him up on that offer. It'll be easier to get to know the area and find an apartment, that way I'll be settled for when I start working."

"_Oh."_

"Yeah, so I'm really sorry."

"_It's alright. No strings attached, right?" _she said with a nervous giggle, her voice disappointed almost.

"Um hum. No strings attached."

"_So this is goodbye then I guess."_

"Sort of. You can still feel free to call. We are friends if nothing else." I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling a bit guilty.

"_Yeah. Okay then. I guess I'll talk to you later or something," _she said softly. _"Got to go to work now. Bye."_

The line cut before I could even voice my goodbyes. I'd always had a feeling she wanted to be more than just friends with benefits, and I took advantage of that some days. On the other hand, she made good use of our agreement too, more often than I ever did. Now, I knew that she was hoping that in the end there'd be something more, but now she knows that nothing more will happen.

"Bye," I said to the T-Mobile BlackBerry 8820 that I held in my hand. I felt a pain in my stomach, almost like I'd been punched in the gut by Emmett.

_Yup, that's the guilt right there._

We'd met in the beginning, and we'd always hung out together. Tanya was a great girl, and I admit I was attracted to her physically. But emotionally, I could have nothing more with her than a friendship. We both shared in the benefits, and eventually one thing led to another one night. The next morning we both felt great, all the stress having been relieved that was caused by our strenuous work loads. We'd decided that we could handle being friends and still having our 'one-night-stands' with each other. They meant nothing, we both knew that. But, Tanya apparently wanted them to.

_I'm such an ass._

I sighed before deciding to get dressed. Alice hadn't run into the room to wake me up so I assumed she was still asleep. I threw on a pair of jeans and one of my button down shirts, hoping that I didn't look like I felt.

How did I even feel?

In less than two days, I'd suddenly been interested in a woman whose mere appearance had me feeling all warm inside. I was so confused as to what that even meant, but I knew that Bella was nothing less than special. I would just have to wait it out in the hopes that the fuzziness in my brain would clear and some understanding would reach me.

I also just lost one of my greatest friends, though I knew it wouldn't last once I moved. I'd never even said goodbye to her properly, and even worse, I did it over the phone once I was long gone. I had to wonder if I did that on purpose, though, subconsciously of course.

I opened my door quietly and tip-toed down the hallway until I reached the steps. I looked around at all the closed doors to make sure that no one was woken up. Not hearing any movement, I carefully made my way down to the kitchen. I found it odd that I hadn't heard Emmett's monstrous snoring, but maybe he'd finally grown out of it. I hadn't heard it the other night, but then again it was I sound I grew up with and I had been asleep before he went to bed and after he'd gotten up.

When I reached the kitchen, I went over to the coffee maker, noticing that the coffee was already on, made, and steaming hot.

_Perfect,_ I thought, smiling.

I grabbed a mug from the counter, seeing that someone had set up a few there. There were only two left, but I assumed that maybe they had been used the other morning. I went to grab the pot when I noticed a note lying on the counter, tucked underneath the mugs. I picked it up and read the note.

"_Morning. I'm off to work early, but I'll be back in time for our usual six o'clock dinner. I've got a big project to work on, and I'm hoping to get as much done today as I can. Enjoy the coffee!_

_Love, Alice._

_P.S. Can you believe how dark it is at 5:00 AM?! It's nuts!"_

I laughed, but then moved on to the next section of the letter.

"_God I hate getting up at 6. It's the one problem with this job. Still, I went of to work as early as usual. Tardiness is not to be tolerated. I'll be home for lunch and then I've got a doctor's appointment. Just the usual check up guys, don't worry. Enjoy your crappy mornings too!_

_XOXO Rose."_

Another chuckle escaped me before I moved on to the bottom half of the stationary sheet.

"_Off to my usual 7 AM appointment. It's always an amusing one, not that I should be disclosing any information to you about my patients. If you don't tell, then I won't. See you when I'm done you guys. Have fun today. Don't let Edward get out of hand._

_Jazz."_

I finally moved on to the messy scribbling that I've come to know as Emmett's hand writing.

"_I've got an 8 AM with some whore named Lauren who's really in desperate need of a good workout. I'll catch you guys later. Sorry for not telling you about this Eddie. I've got a pretty packed schedule today, unfortunately, so I can't squeeze in any brother time until I get back. It'll be pretty late too. Mondays are always a tight day for me. 9-ish. Have fun with Bella. And if she holds herself hostage in her room all day with the door locked, the key is in my top dresser drawer where I keep my boxers. Go in there and make sure Bella doesn't hide away all day._

_-Lucy._

_P.S. Make sure that everyone knows you're the only one who can call me that, Eddie. Rose has taken a liking to it and it's starting to drive me nuts!"_

I laughed. So, apparently Emmett was up, along with everyone else, other than Bella. I flipped over the paper, just to check that Bella hadn't also written a note on the back saying she'd disappeared as well. I let out a sigh of relief, not even realizing I'd been holding my breath in, when I saw that the back was blank.

I poured a cup of coffee for myself and then set to making some delicious breakfast food.

Five minutes later, I was making an omelet and bacon on the stove while snagging a few more sips of my cooling coffee. The sizzling bacon spattered oil every so often, but I managed to refrain from a burn.

"So, he cooks…" a lovely voice said happily from behind me.

"He does, along with many other things," I said as I turned around to face Bella.

She had a lovely little smile as she read over all the little memos in the note I'd found earlier.

"Do you guys do that every morning?" I asked as she giggled.

"Yup. It's just become a tradition, I guess. Part of the morning routine," she said. Glancing down at the bottom of the page, she burst out into laughter.

I shot her a questioning look as she looked up at me.

"Do you want to go get that key or will I have to bare the torture?" she asked in a light, joking tone.

"No thank you. I've seen enough of Emmett's Spiderman boxers for one lifetime," I said with a light chuckle.

She poured coffee into the other mug and lifted it to her lips. "So you enjoyed our little daily ritual?" she asked after taking a sip.

"Very much," I replied honestly. I tuned back to the stove and used the spatula to get the omelet out of the pan and scoop the bacon onto a plate. "Would like something?"

"No thank you. I'm generally just a coffee girl."

"You sure? I make a mean omelet."

She giggled. "No, I'm good. Although, I would like to know some more about you since I did all but pour my heart out to you last night," she said with a lovely blush.

"Alright," I said leaning forward over the counter while she sat down on the other side. "What would you like to know?" I sunk my fork into my omelet and took a good bite out of it.

"I'll start with something easy. You said that your best friend is your piano," she stated, I knew exactly what her question was.

I swallowed my food and answered the unasked question. "I've been playing for as long as I can remember, and for every free moment. I loved it. I played whatever piece I could get my hands on," I said, and what I'm sure was a dreamy, distracted look consumed my face.

She laughed. "That's cool. What'd you do with your piano, though?"

"It's in storage half an hour away from here along with most of my stuff."

"Why didn't you have them bring your piano here?" she asked, looking honestly perplexed.

"Because it's a huge piece of furniture and I didn't think you guys would want something like that consuming one of the lovely rooms in this house," I answered simply.

"Well, it looks like you've got a phone call to go make," she said.

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes in fake annoyance at my question. "The piano isn't going to walk over here itself, Edward."

"Really? Could have fooled me," I joked back. "Alright. I'll call them later. Now, how about I tell you more about me? What else would you like to know?" I asked, taking pleasure in the simple, light-hearted conversation we were sharing.

"Hmm," she said, placing her index finger to her chin and looking upward to the ceiling, making it clear that she was thinking long and hard about her next question. I chuckled, the look being the most adorable thing I had ever seen. A small smirk flirted across her lips and I wondered what could possibly be floating around in that pretty little head of hers.

"Well?" I asked when she just sat there smiling at me.

"What is your favorite movie of all time?" she asked.

I chuckled again while I thought. "I don't know. I don't think I have a favorite."

She smiled wickedly.

_Uh oh_, I thought as I took in the look on her face and the gleam in her eyes. I was honestly afraid, recognizing that look to be similar to Alice's, though I'd only seen it once. This girl spent a good amount of her life with Alice, too. Between the stories I'd heard from Em and Jazz and seeing it live and in person, a day Alice style could be really wild. I did enjoy the beach, but you never knew what was coming next. Bella could be just as bad.

My face must have shown my fear. "Oh chill Edward. A day Bella-Style is a little different from a day Alice-Style. I like to think I'm not as insane as that little ball of energy."

I laughed, feeling as relaxed as I'd been a moment ago. "Alright then," I said. "Lead the way, oh powerful Bella. I think I'm up for a day, Bella-Style," I said as I dumped my completely empty plate into the dishwasher.

She jumped up from her seat and I was about to follow her when she turned around and stopped me. "Not so fast, Edward. I'm going to go change out of my PJs. I don't think you should be following me into my room while I'm changing out of my clothes. Go put on some shoes," she said, wagging her finger at me.

I laughed, trying to hide my embarrassment. I felt my face heat up a little, but hoped that Bella hadn't noticed. She turned around and finished making her way out of the kitchen, her hips swaying back and forth in the mesh shorts she was wearing.

I sighed. _Really, Edward, what are you feeling? Whatever it is, you need to figure it out fast, because you'll be going out of your mind soon enough._

**BELLA'S POV**

I walked out of the kitchen, swaying my hips a little more than usual. I had no idea why I'd been doing that, but as soon as I was out of sight, I stopped.

_What is wrong with you?_ I scolded myself. _Get a grip!_

Until exhaustion finally took over me last night, I'd tossed and turned thinking about Edward. I wondered what he was thinking, what he was dreaming about, if he was asleep yet or not. I felt completely pathetic, but I couldn't help myself. It's like my brain was stuck in 'Edward Mode'.

I remembered how I'd told him everything about Jake. Well, almost everything. I left out a few details that really didn't need to be said…Like the way it killed me when we'd run into each other a few times in Seattle, or how I'd never returned to him my engagement ring. The truth was that I only kept the ring because I couldn't bring myself to run into him on purpose in order to return it. The accidental reunion was different. It was quick, awkward, and meaningless. But this was something that couldn't just be a passing by, and it was personal. Some days I wanted to just send it to him in the mail, but I knew that Jake deserved to be spoken to in person when I returned it. So, I never got the chance to give it back.

Still, my mind wandered back to how my heart screamed at me to tell Edward the painful story. I didn't understand where that voice had suddenly come from, and I still don't. Everything in my head is in a daze, a total jumble. My thoughts are scrambled, but all of them are about the same thing…Edward.

I wondered about that pull. The unbelievable, undeniable pull that I felt, tying me to him, drawing me near. It felt like gravity…and this gravitational force was one not to be reckoned with.

_I don't know how to describe it, but there's like a gravitational pull between us, one that I can't ignore any longer. It was like her entire being was imprinted into my soul by some greater power._

I remembered those words clearly. For weeks I couldn't stop replaying them in my head. Jake's words had hurt me more than I could have imagined to be true. But, it was hard to believe what he'd said as well. That something had been pulling him to her. That they were destined to be together, they were soul mates. I'd always wondered if that could be true, but I had to assume it was for Jake to no longer be with me, to break such a promise.

I guess that I always knew it was true, but I knew thought it was something could happen to me. I wondered if what I felt toward Edward was what Jake had felt for that girl. I wondered, once again, what it even was that I felt for Edward. I couldn't make sense of anything.

There were only three things I was sure of.

1. There was something between Edward and I that I couldn't ignore.

2. I had no idea what that something was.

And 3. I really did like that something, whatever it was.

"Okay, so what are we doing?" the velvety voice asked me, breaking me away from my thoughts.

I was about to scream at him to get out of my room so I could change, but then I realized I was already dressed and standing next to the front door, car keys in hand. I was really confused, until I remembered how deep in thought I'd been. It didn't matter, though, because I was already dressed, fresh, and ready to go. I guess I'd been working robotically, which really came as no surprise. I'd done that so many times lately.

I was dressed comfortably in a pair of burgundy shorts and a white tank top. My hair was up in its usual pony tail, for lack of a need to really do it up, and I was wearing my favorite pair of sneakers. I was glad that I'd picked those, because I rarely tripped when I wore them.

"You'll see in due time, Edward. In due time," I told him as I walked out the front door.

"Alright," he responded, following right on my heels.

I unlocked my car, a 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac XLT. I'd bought it recently when my old truck gave out. This looked a little like it, a red pick up truck, but I knew I'd get a good ten years out of it before it'd take a turn for the worse. I got it used too, though it didn't come cheep either. At least it cost A LOT less than if I'd bought it brand new. Besides, Emmett insisted I get it and Rose told me it looked pretty fine to her.

Edward looked at me for a minute, taking in the car that was mine.

"Nice ride," he said.

"It gets the job done," I said as I hoisted myself up into the monster of a car I owned.

Edward made his way around to the passenger side and hopped in with ease. "So, let's get going. The anticipation is killing me," he said.

I put my key into the ignition and started up the engine, which was all the answer he needed to know that we were heading out.

We talked for a bit in the car, continuing the conversation that we'd started in the kitchen. It was just after ten thirty by the time we got to our destination.

"Block Buster?" Edward asked with a confused expression.

"I told you that we were doing today Bella-Style. When I'm not writing, it usually includes some movies, popcorn, and Chinese food," I explained with a laugh.

"Oh," he said, joining in with a chuckle.

The chuckle was such music to my ears that it stopped my laughing.

I went to grab the handle on my door when it opened on its own accord. I looked up and noticed Edward standing right there, and was relieved to realize that my car wasn't possessed.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know if you really want to hear," I admitting, fully aware that I was beginning to blush.

"Oh, jeez. Bella, now I have to know," he said.

"Fine. I was thinking that my car was possessed, but then I saw you standing there and was very relieved," I told him, knowing that my blush was likely a full out crimson consuming my entire face by now.

He chuckled. "That's all?" I nodded. "Alright then. Shall we?" he asked, extending his arm for me to take.

"We shall," I replied, hooking my arm in his.

We walked through the parking lot. Actually, I skipped and he attempted to walk along with me while he laughed his cute butt off and clutched his side with his free arm, gasping for breath.

When we walked into the Block Buster, I pulled him to the shelves and immediately started pulling movie after movie down. When I was satisfied with my choices, I took the five DVDs with me, and dragged Edward over to the check out line. The snacks were conveniently there, and I went to work on my second mission here at the store. Edward watched, still laughing his musical laugh. I grabbed gummy bears, sour worms, popcorn, and snow caps.

I looked into his amazing emerald eyes. "Is there anything here that you'd like?" I asked.

He seemed mesmerized for a moment, but quickly snapped out his daze and examined the candy before him. He picked up Reese's and Twizzlers.

"Hmmm…Nice selections," I told him. We dropped everything onto the counter for the woman to begin ringing up.

"Good morning. I see you have a little movie marathon planned here," the cashier said, looking solely at Edward.

"I believe we do," Edward said, completely oblivious to the woman before him checking him out.

I felt a small ping in my chest, but didn't know what it was.

_Jealousy? Maybe? No, it couldn't be…could it?_

I paid for the videos and snacks, despite Edward begging me to allow him the pleasure, and we walked out, my mood a bit deflated.

"Hey. Where's the perkiness?" he asked me as he opened my door for me. "We go in with you skipping like a lunatic, and then we come out with you dragging your feet."

He looked sincerely concerned, which brought an involuntary smile to my face and uplifted my mood instantly. I even let out a little laugh while I tried to think of an explanation. I came up with the best excuse I could think of. "They didn't have Sour Straws or soda."

**EDWARD'S POV**

For some reason, I didn't believe her. I didn't want to push it though, because today was for Bella and I to enjoy, not pissing each other off.

I closed her door and walked around the car to the passenger side. I quickly hopped in and took my assigned seat. "We can go to a CVS and pick some up," I suggested.

"Good idea," she chirped. "There's one about five minutes from here."

As she pulled out of the parking lot and I decided to turn on the radio. A local music station came on and filled the car with a clean beat. I didn't recognize the song, but I hadn't been listening to anything modern lately.

Before I knew it, Bella was hopping out of the car and bouncing into the CVS. Talk about a change of moods. "Bella, don't go bipolar on me now," I joked.

"That's not funny! How do you know I'm not bipolar, huh?" she turned to me with an angry look on her face, planting her hands firmly on her hips. I was stunned, and even more when she suddenly burst into a giggle fit.

"What's so funny?" I asked, seriously beginning to wonder if she was in fact bipolar.

"Your…Face!" she said as she doubled over and nearly fell to the pavement.

"Oh yeah? Well your mom!" I said beginning to laugh as well.

After a few deep breaths, Bella straightened herself out. "Alright, I'm good now."

I followed her into the CVS and watched as she picked up the few things she'd said she needed. She added some chips and a book to her basket and then purchased the items, despite my attempt, once again, to pay for it myself.

We headed back to the car and got in, hastily making the drive home. When we got there, Bella plopped all the items down in the TV room and dashed into the kitchen.

"Are you sure you aren't Alice in disguise?" I teased as I made my way after her.

"You never know. That little pixie is pretty damn good with hair and make up. All she'd need to do is grow a few more inches and she could make herself look like me in a second," she told me with a snap of her fingers. She picked up the phone and tossed a piece of folded paper at me.

I opened it up and saw that it was a the menu for a Chinese restaurant.

I told Bella what I wanted and she rattled off the order to the man on the other end of the line. Then she hung up the phone and danced her way over to the cupboard, pulling out two glasses and a large bowl. She threw the popcorn into the microwave and then turned to me.

"So, this day is as much my day as yours," she said to me. "Thus, you get to pick which movie we watch first."

"_Blades of Glory_," I said as I leaned back against the counter, folding my arms across my chest.

"Alright, then I guess we'll watch _Superbad_."

"And then we'll watch _Rush Hour 3_."

"I guess that _Ghost Rider_ is my next choice."

"And that leaves us with _Knocked Up._"

"And _Disturbia_, if we have time."

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "I only saw five movies."

"I own that one, silly."

She hopped up onto the counter and kicked her legs, her heels knocking against the cabinets.

"Okey dokey," I said, not realizing how lame the term sounded until it flew out of my mouth. Bella giggled. "Okay, yeah that was lame. But whatever. So are we going to watch now or what?"

"We have to wait for the Chinese food to get here. It'll only be another fifteen minutes."

"Okay." I turned to the clock and noticed that it was around 12:30 now. "Wow, this morning really flew by," I said.

"I take it that means you're enjoying yourself?"

"I haven't had this much fun since Em helped me play my senior prank," I told her.

"Which was…" she looked at me, waiting for me to tell her.

"Oh you know, the usual prank. Getting six Jack Russell Terriers, using spray paint – the colored kind you get to color your hair – to paint the numbers one, three, four, five, six, and seven on their fur, and laughing our asses off as we watched the teachers run after them around the gym and school. And once they thought they'd had them all, they had to run around the school a billion times trying to find the dog with the number two painted on his side."

She looked confused for a minute, but then realized the hilarity in it. "How long did it take them to realize that dog number two didn't exist?" she asked as she laughed.

"Four hours or so," I said with a goofy grin on my face.

"That must have been priceless," she said.

"Oh, believe me, it was. And I owe it all to Emmett."

The door bell rang and Bella flew off the counter, losing her balance in the process. I instinctively jumped out and grabbed Bella around the waist before she hit the floor. Once I had her in my arms, I'd pulled her to my chest tightly. It felt right to have her there, but I knew I couldn't hold her like this, despite how much I wanted to.

"Thanks," she mumbled into my chest.

I ordered my arms to release their grip on her, but the heat and electricity that was running through every fiber of my being at the moment discounted everything my brain said. In fact, I no longer had control over my muscles, they had a mind of their own.

"No problem," I said as I finally managed to regain control and pull my arms back.

**BELLA'S POV**

"Thanks," I said, my words muffled because I was speaking into his chest.

I was being held tightly in his arms, and I liked it way too much. I knew he'd pull back any moment now, and I wanted nothing more than to scream "Don't let go!" but I knew he had to.

"No problem," he said as his arms fell to his sides.

I turned and walked to the front door, telling the floor that it'd finally lost a battle in our never ending war.

I opened the door to find my favorite delivery boy. "Hey Mike," I said, handing him the money for the food and a good tip.

"Hey Bella. Another day in?" he asked.

"You betcha. But today I've got someone to teach my ways to," I told him.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"_His_ name is Edward," I informed him. I saw his face fall. He'd asked me to go on a date numerous times, but I'd always turned him down, coming up with one excuse or another to get out of it.

"Oh. Well, I've got more deliveries to make. See you later Bella," he called as he walked back to his car.

I closed the door and brought the food into the kitchen.

"Let the games begin," I announced, quickly making my way back to the living room and our state of the art entertainment system.

* * *

"Wait wait wait! Mine's way better," I protested as I held up the piece of paper that was in my fortune cookie. My favorite thing about ordering from this place was that they had the best sayings in their fortune cookies and they gave you like 25 cookies too. "_He who laughs last, thinks slowest._"

"_A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking._"

"_The greatest danger could be your stupidity._"

"_A fanatic is one who can't change his mind, and won't change the subject._"

"_Flattery will go far tonight._"

"Will it, really?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I laughed. "Maybe. No harm in trying," I answered with an eyebrow raise from myself.

"Well then, I think you're positively—"

"Bella I'm ba- Oh," Rose said, walking in and stopping in her tracks.

It wasn't until that moment that I noticed I was sitting right next to Edward on the floor, the both of us leaning into each other so that there were only two inches between our faces. I found myself wanting to stay right where I was. Actually that wasn't true. I wanted even more to close that two inch gap and press my lips to his.

_Whoa Bella! Where'd that come from?!_

I pulled back quickly, breaking the eye contact I was holding with Edward.

"Hey Rose," I said, standing up from where I was on the ground. I wondered how long Edward and I had been sitting on the ground.

_Long enough, _I thought as I strained against my butt-lock.

"Living the day Bella-Style?" Rose asked, fidgeting nervously.

"You bet. Here," I said, handing her a container of chicken and rice that I had ordered for her. "It's a little cool, but that's nothing that a minute in the microwave won't fix."

"Thanks," she said, taking the white container from me and running out into the kitchen.

Edward stood up and stretched, drawing my attention to every sexy muscle straining against his button down shirt. I ogled him, but quickly snapped back to reality when his beautiful voice spoke. "I'm just gonna go and, um, yeah…" he said nervously as he walked out of the room and to the steps.

When Edward was out of sight, I actually let the disappointment consume me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and sat back against the couch, allowing my head to fall down and rest on my knees.

_Why am I even disappointed? Did I really want him to kiss me? Is that what I really want? Am I disappointed in myself for wanting to kiss him? Or is it because he shot out of the room when it didn't happen? Why can't I get a hold on my bearings?_

"Hey, honey," Rose said as she walked into the living with a plate full of rice and chicken. She dropped down next to me and placed the plate in her lap. "So, would you care to explain?"

"I would, if I actually knew what the hell was going on myself."

"Hmmmm," was all she responded with as she shoveled a fork full of rice into her mouth.

"What do you mean 'hmmmmm'?" I asked suspiciously.

"I mean 'hmmmmmm'. Don't look at me that way, Bella. I'm just thinking."

"And what exactly are you _thinking_?"

"Good question," she replied, shoving a mouthful of chicken into her mouth.

"Rosalie," I warned.

"It's nothing, Bella. Go get back to your make out movie session already," she said as she stood up and went back to the kitchen.

"Nothing happened!" I shouted after her.

"But something almost did!" she answered back before completely disappearing.

_Great. Just great, _I thought, sighing and letting my held fall back onto the couch cushions while my legs extended and I dropped my arms to my sides.

**EDWARD'S POV**

"_Flattery will go far tonight._"

"Will it, really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her musical laugh filled my ears. "Maybe. No harm in trying," she answered, returning my eyebrow raise.

"Well then, I think you're positively—"

"Bella I'm ba- Oh," Rose said, walking in and stopping in her tracks.

_Damn it_, I cursed in my head.

It wasn't until I looked deeply into the lovely, chocolate brown eyes before me that I realized my close proximity to Bella. My face was inches from hers, and just by leaning in a bit further, I could press my lips to hers. I was surprised by how much I wanted to do this, but kept my desires in check.

Bella pulled back quickly and I did my best to hide my dismay. Our eye contact broken, I took to looking at my feet instead.

"Hey Rose," my angel's voice sang.

_MY angel? Since when was she MY angel? Oh god, Edward. Get a damn hold of yourself._

"Living the day Bella-Style?" Rose asked, fidgeting nervously.

"You bet. Here," Bella said, handing her a container of chicken and rice that had been ordered for her. "It's a little cool, but that's nothing that a minute in the microwave won't fix."

"Thanks," she said, taking the white container from Bella and running out into the kitchen.

I had to get out of the room before I said anything stupid, if only for a moment. I needed to just stop and think, without Bella being there to cloud my mind. I stood up and stretched, trying to get rid of all the kinks I felt from staying in the place for so long.

"I'm just gonna go and, um, yeah…" I said, not being able to think of a good excuse. I'd come up with one by the time I came back into the room, but for now I left it at that and made my way up to my room.

When I finally got to my room, I shut the door, locked it, and fell onto the bed. I stared at the ceiling and just let my mind wander.

_Okay, you're confused, Edward. This is normal, Right?_

_No it's not. You shouldn't be so confused about some girl. You've never been before._

_But she's not just some girl. She's so different and special and…god just shut me up now._

_Do you enjoy being with her?_

_Yes._

_Do you want to be with her right now?_

_Yes._

_Did you want to kiss her?_

_Yes. And even more than that._

_Are you still thinking about her?_

_Yes._

_Then what the hell are you still doing up here and leaving her down stairs?_

_I'm talking to myself in my head, what does it look like I'm doing?_

_You've got things to figure out, Edward, but you're making no progress lying here on your bed and staring at the ceiling while you have a mental debate with yourself. You know there's something special there, some sort of connection, now go and figure out what it is before you lose your chance._

_Hey thanks, Edward, you're really good at this, you know that?_

_I've heard that once or twice, now go get your ass down there and make this up to her. You totally sprinted out of there like you were on fire._

_Shit! I did, didn't I?_

_Uh YEAH!_

_Wait! There's one thing I've got to do before I go back downstairs._

_Alright, man, but make it quick. She's probably pretty pissed that you left her like that._

I jumped up from the bad, glad that my creepy mental debate was over and pulled my BlackBerry out of the holder attached to my pants' waistband.

Quickly dialing the number, I arranged to have my piano brought over here on Friday. That would give everyone enough time to adjust to that idea, seeing as it was Monday, and it was about as long as I'd be able to survive without it.

I threw my BlackBerry back into its holder and did all but sprint down to the living. When I was in the doorway, I saw that the movie had been paused and Bella was resting against the couch, her head back and eyes closed, her legs extended and her arms fallen along her sides. I took a moment to take in her infinite beauty.

"Sorry about that," I said, retaking my rightful seat beside her. "I called the movers so that I could get my piano delivered for Friday."

She opened her eyes and looked at me. She actually looked a little upset. I wondered if she were as disappointed as I that our kiss had been interrupted.

"It's okay. So, do you want to finish watching this?"

"How could I not?" I asked, reaching for the remote.

She grabbed it at the same time as I did and the contact between our hands sent sparks flying through me. I turned to look at her, not removing my hand from the remote. She did the same, her hand remaining in contact with mine.

We just sat there, looking into each other's eyes and ignoring our surroundings.

We were snapped out of our daze when the front door shut, which I assumed was Rosalie leaving to go to the doctor.

Bella let out a nervous laugh as she slowly released her grip on the remote. I didn't tear my gaze away from hers, though, as I pressed the play button and the movie continued from where we left off.

Only half of my attention was on the movies for the rest of the time. Bella and I continued to steal glances at each other, almost always catching the other. It was fun, and I couldn't help but wonder what I was getting myself into. But, the truth was, I really didn't care. I was enjoying this too much to care what it was I was starting, and I never wanted it to end.

**ROSALIE'S POV**

I was just about to call out to Edward and Bella that I was leaving when I walked passed the living room and saw them sitting there, staring into the other's eyes, each holding onto the same remote. I almost squealed with delight, but I knew that was too Alice-esque.

I quickly ran outside the front door and tried to close it as quietly as possible, but being the old house that it was, my attempt didn't go over well.

I whipped out my cell phone and hit one of my favorite speed dials.

_Ring, Ring, Ring._

"_What's up Rose?"_

At this point I was in my car and already pulling out of the driveway, so I did the only thing I thought fit. I screamed my happiness into the phone.

"_Rose?"_

"You missed _the _most awesome thing in the world today! I almost feel bad about ruining it, but I don't because I got to witness it!" I exclaimed giddily.

"_What'd I miss? What'd I miss? Come on Rose, don't leave me hanging like this!" _Alice said and I could tell that she was bouncing up and down with the anticipation.

I took a moment to compose myself, but that all flew out the window the second I began explaining. "Okay, so I came home from work for lunch, and walk into the living room because I heard the TV system on and Edward and Bella's voices. I started talking, but then I see the two of them. There was hardly enough room between them to slide a piece of paper between their faces. I mean, they were practically touching. I could have sworn that if I'd come in seconds later they'd be kissing!"

"_Oh My God!! NO WAY!!"_

"Wait, that's not all. So, as I was leaving, I was going to call out to the both of them, letting them know I'd be gone. That's when I saw them sitting in the living room on the floor again. But this time, it was so different. Totally intense. They were both sitting close together, but more space between them. They were both holding onto the remote, Bella's hand kind of on top of Edward's and they were looking at each other. And I mean _really _looking at each other. Gazing into each other's eyes. There was so much heat from their intensity that I swore I'd have to call the fire department. They were totally oblivious to the fact that I was watching them. I ran out of there like a bat out of hell!"

"_ROSE!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?"_ Alice screamed into the phone.

"Hell yeah!"

"_Okay, so here's what I'm thinking…"_

**BELLA'S POV**

I stole one last look at Edward as _Ghost Rider_'s closing credits scrolled along the screen.

"Hello darlings," Alice said as she strolled into the living room.

"Hey Ally. How was work?" I asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual fab day of fashion," she said.

I noticed she was carrying a few bags of clothes which she promptly threw down at the side of the couch, just out of my reach.

_Damn_. "Alice," I said, my voice a warning. "I swear that if those clothes are for me, you won't ever be able to bring me shopping ever again."

"Oh Bells, would you loosen up? There's something in there for everyone. I've got plans for tomorrow night and you'll need them, alright?"

"Fine," I huffed.

"So, what are we doing for dinner Bella? The only one who won't be home is going to be Emmett, so don't worry about doubling the recipe."

"I haven't thought about it yet," I said. "Hey, where's Rose?" I stood up and started making my way into the kitchen, followed by Alice and Edward.

"She said she had a few errands to run before she came home."

"Yeah, sure she does," I said, knowing exactly what my friend was doing. "Would call her and ask her to pick up some spaghetti while she's out?"

"Wait, are you going to make your famous spaghetti dish with the–"

"Yes, Alice, I am," I said.

She jumped up and down in place, clapping her hands together. "Oh, Edward, you'll love it. I swear, Bella really should go to culinary school and be a chef, she's just that naturally amazing!"

"Well, apparently Edward makes a pretty mean omelet, so maybe he'll help me make dinner," I suggested, secretly hoping he'd say yes.

"Sure," he said with his sexy crooked grin on his face. I felt my knees going weak, and so I grabbed onto the counter for support.

_What the hell? Stupid knees!_

Alice skipped over to the phone and started dialing Rose's phone. She asked for the spaghetti and then there were a few hushed whispers that had me far too suspicious.

"Makes you wonder what they're talking about, doesn't it?" an incredibly lovely voice whispered into my ear from behind me. I felt myself loosing my strength already.

I had an insane urge to turn around and wrap my arms around his neck, awaiting the chance to crush my lips to his. I took a deep breath to steady myself and control my wants. "Tell me about it," I replied shakily.

He chuckled. _What a beautiful sound._ "You don't think they're planning something, do you?"

"Oh, I know they are. Those two girls scheme like it's breathing in air."

We both laughed. "Should I be afraid?" he joked.

I turned to face him, not realizing until I spun around just how close he was to me until I was face to face with the Greek god before me. In truth, it was more like face to upper chest, but that didn't matter, because just being this close to him was sending my stomach into an acrobatic routine.

"Very, very afraid," I whispered breathlessly as I looked up at him.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I couldn't help myself. I stood directly behind Bella and whispered into her ear.

She took a deep breath and replied, "Tell me about it."

I chuckled. "You don't think they're planning something, do you?" I asked, feeling a little suspicious of the girls on the phone.

"Oh, I know they are. Those two girls scheme like it's breathing in air."

We both laughed. "Should I be afraid?" I asked jokingly.

At that moment, she spun around to face me, and by the look on her face, she didn't realize how close we were until now. I wanted so much to wrap my arms around her, pull her close to me, and make that one inch between us disappear.

"Very, very afraid," she whispered, looking up at me through her long lashes.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. She was unbelievably sexy and hot and gorgeous as she looked at me that way. I wanted now more than ever to kiss her, but I didn't know I that was what she wanted. Plus, Alice was in the room with us. I couldn't do it here or now, despite my desperate need to.

"Alright, you two, Rose'll be here in twenty minutes," Alice said as she hung up the phone, a sneaky smile on her face.

My BlackBerry began to vibrate and I thanked the heavens that I didn't need to use my self control to keep myself from grabbing Bella.

The caller ID read _Home_ and I knew it was a call I needed to take.

"I'll be right back," I said, hitting the green talk button.

**BELLA'S POV**

Edward walked away and I turned to Alice. The smile on her face was one I knew all too well.

"So…" she said, raising her eyebrows as she scanned my face.

"So what?" I asked.

"Rose told me about this afternoon," she said.

"It was nothing. Nothing happened," I said.

"But, something was about to."

_Damn, she's got me there._

"But it didn't."

"Well, then tell me about your little moment in the living room with Edward and the remote," she said.

"Wait, Rose saw that?" Alice nodded. "And she told you about that?" Another nod. "I don't even know what it was."

"Really…"

"It's just that stupid feeling," I mumbled.

"Wait, what?" Alice asked.

"Stupid feeling," I said.

"What stupid feeling?"

"That one I get whenever I'm within a ten foot radius of the guy," I admitted, knowing that I'd never get away with not telling her and not wanting to waste the energy with such futile efforts.

"Oh Bella," Alice squealed as she jumped over to me and pulled me into her arms.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"Nothing. You'll see soon enough," she answered.

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" I asked.

"Don't worry Bells. Trust me, alright? You'll _love _this."

With that, my favorite little pixie hopped off into the hall and then into the living room. She re-emerged carrying all those bags of clothes and flew up the steps.

"Hey, sorry about that," my favorite voice said from behind me, distracting me from anything having to do with Alice. I turned around, and there he was leaning over the counter looking directly at me.

I was once again lost in those beautiful green eyes, forgetting that there was actually a world around me.

**ALICE'S POV**

"Rose! Rose!"

"What?" she asked, jumping out of her car and grabbing me so I didn't bounce off into oblivion.

"Oh my god! So, there I was, making my quick phone call to you, asking about you picking up the spaghetti, right?"

She nodded and held up a Shop Rite bag. "I've got it right here."

"Forget about the Shop Rite bag, Rose! This is about Edward and Bella!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, so I walk back into the kitchen and there they are, just looking into each other's eyes, like how you were telling me about this afternoon."

"Uh huh?!" Rose was grinning from ear to ear, nodding her head, and prompting me to continue.

"And the chemistry between the two of them was completely bubbling over the brim of the flask!"

"And…"

"And that's it…but jeez Rose! They look like me and Jazz or you and Em!"

We both smiled at each other knowingly.

"So, will we be taking a trip to the mall tomorrow morning so that Edward and Bella have some more alone time?" Rose asked.

"Definitely," I sang.

As we walked back into the kitchen, Bella and Edward were having a staring contest, again.

"Gosh, do you two ever do anything else?" Rose asked, breaking their focus.

I laughed as I watched Bella blush. She looked to us, but then turned her attention to the floor.

_This may just be easier than I thought._

**EDWARD'S POV**

"Dinner was amazing Bella," I said as I turned to look at the beautiful woman sitting beside me.

"Thank you, but I can't take all the credit. I had a fantastic helper this evening, you know," she replied as she began clearing the table.

"Well, then, why don't you let him help you finish cleaning up?" I asked as she nudged me out of the dining room.

"Because he needs to go and keep the rest of the residents in this house entertained," she replied with a smile.

I went into the living room to see a very content group of people. Jasper was holding Alice as she sat in his lap and Rosalie was watching a NASCAR race.

"Who knew you could cook so well?" Jasper said to me.

"You know Esme. She believes every man should know how to cook," I answered, shrugging my shoulders as I look a seat on the floor.

"Wait, Emmett knows how to cook?" Rose asked, obviously picking up on the fact that we both were raised by the same Esme.

"No, he totally failed Esme's culinary school." I chuckled.

"Squirt! I'm home! Now where's my dinner?!" Emmett boomed after throwing the door open.

"Speak of the devil," Rose muttered.

"Here Em," Bella said, walking up to him where he now stood in the doorway of the living room and shoving a plate into his hands.

"Thanks, Squirt."

"Emmett, you know I hate that name."

"Yup, about as much as I hate being called Lucy, but that hasn't stopped Rose."

"What can I say? I Love Lucy!" Rose retorted.

Emmett groaned. "Alright. So, Rose baby, how was work?" He took a seat next to her and began digging into his meal.

Rose began explaining her entire idea, and decided to throw in a little bit about what happened when she came. Emmett turned to me at that point and grinned. I felt totally mortified, and I tried to hide my face, but I couldn't. I didn't even know why I was embarrassed, but I guess it was because the moment was supposed to be private.

When I got up to leave for the kitchen, Bella came into the room. I sat myself back on the floor and watched as she took her seat next to Emmett.

"Hey Bells. Rose was just telling us ALL about her day. Would you like to share anything about YOURS?" Emmett asked.

Bella turned about a million shades of red as her lovely blush made yet another appearance this evening. I had to say that if there were anything more beautiful, it'd have to be some sort of miracle.

She began telling them about our day, editing out our little staring sessions. I couldn't get her eyes out of my mind. They were mesmerizing. I wanted, more than anything, to just be able to look in those eyes for hours on end.

"Okay guys, it's already ten o'clock. I think I'm going to turn in," I heard Bella say. I immediately stood up.

"I think I'll do the same. I'm bushed," I said.

Everyone in the room seemed to smile and then Bella and I walked up the steps together.

"Good night, Edward," Bella said as we passed my room.

I put my hand on the door knob. "Good night, Bella," I said to her. I pushed open the door and began walking into the room before whispering to myself, "My lovely, lovely Bella."

**BELLA'S POV**

"Good night, Bella," Edward said to me as he entered his room. What I heard next, though, I was not entirely sure I heard correctly. He whispered, "My lovely, lovely Bella."

_Really? Did he think I was lovely? Wait 'MY BELLA'? Seriously? What does that mean? Confusing much?_

I didn't know what to think as I all but ran into my bedroom.

I lay out on my bed and stared at the ceiling as I contemplated everything that was said and done since I walked into the kitchen this morning, all the way up until now. Despite my overanalyzes, my brain ended up foggier than before.

I groaned as I stood up and made my way to my shower. This was a lot more frustration than one girl could handle, and I desperately needed some hot water pounding on my tight shoulder muscles to release some of that steam.

But, the shower didn't help, because all it did was allow me more time for my mind to run a mile a minute, and we all knew where it was running.

_Edward._


	5. Taking Chances

**a/n:** it actually took me a few extra days to get this chapter out and I had planned it completely differently, but couldn't resist changing the ending to my sudden new plans. i only got exactly 20 reviews, so guys please tell what you think after you all finish reading...it really makes my day and motivates me to write chapters like these that are 9 or 10 THOUSAND words. I spent 7 straight hours getting this chapter written today and my head is killing me so please let me know what you all think. PLEASE! I also realize that i change POVs a lot and i know that it gets confusing, but you really cant get all the angles of the story without me doing it, so please just bare with me on that.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I woke up nearly a hundred times last night, unable to truly settle my restless mind into a deep sleep. At dawn, I finally gave up on my attempts and just allowed my thoughts to take control of my morning.

Hours later, around 8 AM, I snapped out my wandering thoughts, having come to one unbelievable conclusion:

I was undeniably highly attracted to Isabella Swan, and I was going to make her mine.

Having decided this, I jumped out of bed and changed into a pair of jeans. I opted to ignore the shirt, knowing that I had yet to take a shower this morning, but was too famished to wash before I received my morning meal. I happily dashed downstairs to the kitchen, finding things in an identical order to that of yesterday morning.

I grabbed a coffee mug and pulled out the note hidden beneath it. I opened it, hoping that something would have me chuckling, but as I began to read, I found a frown creeping onto my face.

"_Good morning all,_

_As you guys know, I have an appointment with my publisher this morning in Seattle. We'll be looking at my latest book and discussing the newest news on my recently published novel. It's my first deadline for this new book, and I'm so excited because I think it's my best idea yet. Well, I guess that's for Crowley to decide now. I've already emailed him, last night, with what I've written thus far, and so now that's he's read it I'm going to speak with him face to face as we've been doing in the past. I left around 6 AM, considering it'll take me at least 4 hours to get to Seattle. But, I will be back in time to cook you all a lovely, home cooked meal. If all goes well with my book, I'll be making steak and Emmett's favorite side casserole…so cross your fingers!_

_With Love,_

_**3**__ Bella."_

I felt myself doing a one-eighty internally as I finished reading Bella's note. She was the only one who had written anything on the letter, and so I just continued to desperately stare at the words, willing them to magically change on the page and tell me that she was just upstairs in bed, peacefully sleeping. I cursed myself for being so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear her leave. I was, after all, up since the break of dawn.

_Why didn't she even tell me she'd be gone today?_

I realized I had gotten my hopes up already far too high, now feeling the aftermath of my crushed excitement.

"Morning little bro," Emmett boomed happily as he entered the kitchen, dressed for his day at work at the gym. I secretly wished I had a job where I could wear a sweat suit and sneakers everyday. He took one look at my face and quickly gauged my mood. "Whoa, who ran over your puppy, Edward?"

I sighed, not ready to really tell Emmett the truth just yet. I knew that eventually I'd have to tell him that I wanted to pursue Bella, I just hoped I'd have her before I'd admit it to him. I slid the note back into place under the other mugs. "If I recall correctly, Em, _you_ were the one who ran over Scruffy after you got your license," I quipped.

Emmett knew that he should back off, so instead of replying, he grabbed a coffee mug off the counter. He noticed the letter and that's when the obvious hit him. "Oh! Squirt left! That's what's got your panties in a bunch." He smiled. "You miss your buddy," he cooed as if talking to me like I was only a young child.

"Do not," I protested, feeling like the child that Emmett had just spoken to me as. Truthfully, I knew he was right, but I wouldn't give him such ultimate satisfaction. He just chuckled and draped his arm around my shoulder, as if we were having a real brotherly moment.

"It's alright, man. I won't tell her. But, if you spend all day sulking, I'm going to lock you out of the house for a week." I laughed half heartedly, thinking it would be funny to see Emmett's face if_ he_ were the one that _I'd_ locked out. "No joke," he warned.

"Good morning," Alice and Rose chimed as they walked perkily into the kitchen.

I noticed immediately that they were not in their work clothes or high heeled stilettos. No, today they were in casual, yet stylish, clothes and pink running sneakers. Apparently, Emmett noticed too.

"Uh Oh," he said. "Shopping invasion! Hurry Eddie! Run! Save yourself!"

"Oh quit with your over dramatics, Em," Rose ordered as she started making her way to get her morning coffee.

"Is that the reason for the running shoes?" I asked.

"Yup," Alice replied, beaming.

Both women were now picking up their mugs when they noticed the note. Alice grabbed it and skimmed it quickly.

"Crap," Alice whisper-yelled.

"What?" Rose asked. "Jazz have an early morning appointment?"

Alice whispered something into Rose's ear and both of their expressions fell before they bolted out of the room.

"That was…" Emmett began.

"Suspicious," I finished.

We heard a groan and then a "Morning," as a groggy looking, and sounding, Jasper entered the room, dressed all nicely for work.

"Morning sleepyhead," Emmett greeted him.

Jasper poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the counter while Emmett and I took seats at the table.

"So, _Eddie_, what are your plans for today?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know, _Lucy_. It's Tuesday, so I guess I'll—"

"Shopping with us," Alice interrupted.

"What?" all of us three guys asked.

"Yeah. We can't very well leave you here alone, now can we?" Rose began to reason. "So you come, carry our bags, and tell us even more about yourself."

I thought about it for a moment before I decided I had nothing better to do. I also quickly made another important decision, one I hoped I wouldn't come to regret. "Fine, but on one condition."

They looked at each other, but then turned back to me and nodded. "Name your terms."

I heard Emmett mutter, "Dead man walking," to Jasper, but ignored it as I vaguely named my condition.

"You help me with something _very_ important."

"Which would be…" Rose tried to get me to explain further.

"Something that will be discussed once we're in the car. Now, just let me go shower, get dressed, and grab my keys. Then, we'll be going. Oh, and would you pop a piece of bread into the toaster for me? Light, not medium."

I began to head back to my room when the little pixie stopped me. "Hold up, Mister. We're taking _my_ car."

"Sorry, Ally, but we're taking my Volvo."

"I don't think so, Eddie."

"I'll make a deal with you," I offered.

"Alright."

"We take the Volvo and you can pick any **one** outfit for me to purchase without my protest."

"Two."

"One."

"One and a new sports jacket."

"One and a new pair of Steve Maddens."

"Done," Alice said, shaking my hand in acceptance.

"Pleasure doing business with you," I replied before I finally left the kitchen.

I could hear Rose saying to Alice, "WOW! He already knows how to get what he wants from you Alice. It took me three months to figure that out right! Not. Fair."

Thirty minutes later, I was following the girls out of the house and hitting the unlock button on the keychain remote for doors of my Volvo. I took my seat in the driver's side, obviously, and Rose took the passenger side. Alice slid into the middle of the back seat.

A few minutes into the drive Alice leaned forward, propping herself up on her elbows which she placed on the console between the two front seats. Her head was barely poking past the seats, but I could easily see the curious, yet knowing, expression on her face as she stared up expectantly. I could tell Rose was looking at me similarly.

When I didn't speak to answer the unspoken question, Alice voiced it. "So…What exactly do you need our help for?" She spoke as if she already knew, and for some reason, I was pretty sure she did.

"Yeah. I mean, you must be desperate to come on a shopping trip willingly in exchange for our help," Rose pressed.

"Alright, so you guys have known Bella for a really long time and I was hoping that you'd help me—"

"Oh!" Alice squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck awkwardly from behind the seat. Her squeal was so high-pitched that I feared she'd crack my windows. "I knew it! I just knew it!"

"Hey Ally! I knew it too!" Rose exclaimed.

"Knew what?" I asked, trying to play dumb to see if I was really that obvious before.

"You like Bella!" Alice sang.

_Apparently, I was._

"No shit Sherlock," I replied. "How'd you figure it out?" I asked, truly curious.

"Rose told me about seeing you two yesterday, and then when I witnessed it with my own eyes in the kitchen, well, I just totally knew it," Alice replied.

"It wasn't exactly subtle, the sparks flying off you two," Rose pointed out.

"I felt the sparks," I mumbled only partially to myself. The next was supposed to be only for my ears, but Alice and Rose heard me say it too. "But I keep wondering if she did too…"

"Oh, believe me, she definitely did," Alice said giddily.

"How do you figure?" I asked, perking up.

"We have our ways…" Rose replied.

"Smartass," I muttered.

"Dandy," Rose shot back.

The three of us laughed, but then I said the _final_ thing that needed to be told. "You can't say _anything_ to Emmett, Jasper, or Bella, though."

"And if we do?" Rose asked.

"The shoes will suffer," I answered.

Alice raised an eyebrow, daring to call my threat a bluff.

"Believe me, I've got a pocket knife on me right now," I said.

They both gasped. "You wouldn't…"

"Ah, but I would."

"Fine. No word of this leaves the mouths of those present in this car if others are near. Now, can we leave my shoes out of this?" Alice begged as I parked in the mall parking lot, having followed the exact directions I'd been given earlier.

"Let's get this shopping trip on. Shall we ladies?"

They both hopped out of the car and sprinted to the entrance.

"Get your ass over here, Edward! We've got plans to formulate!" Rosalie called over her shoulder.

"Plots to hatch," Alice continued.

"And schemes to…erm…scheme," I finished as I finally caught up.

"Alright," Alice said as she entered the first store. "Here's what I'm thinking…"

**BELLA'S POV**

This drive to Seattle was long, lonely, and silent. And so, one could only imagine what I did to busy myself. Well, I thought. In fact, I let my thought run wild, taking off in what ever direction they felt like heading in.

So, for over four hours, my mind was consumed by thoughts of Edward…

Befriending Edward…

Dating Edward…

Kissing Edward…

Loving Edward…

Taking Edward…

Marrying Edward…

And so much more. Sometimes I didn't even know how I got to a certain thought about, or why I'd even thought about, such a thing in the first place, but it was appearing into my mind nevertheless.

I didn't know where I got off thinking about _love_ or _marriage_ with Edward. But, I couldn't help my smile when I imagined the life we could have together.

I wondered if those were things I really wanted. I wanted to answer that with a yes, but I really wasn't sure.

But I was absolutely positive that I wanted to try to get those things.

And so, that was when it was decided…

I was going to make Edward mine, no matter the extreme measure it could possibly take.

I was just turning into the parking lot of my publisher's office building when I'd made up my mind, so I decided that the rest of these thoughts and plots would need to be stored away until I was in my car again and on my way back home.

Checking the dashboard clock, I saw it was a little after 10 AM, and I didn't need to be in to meet with Crowley until 10:30.

I grabbed the copy of the first section of my newest book from off my passenger seat and then pulled my keys out the ignition. Stepping out of my car, I took extra care not to fall to the pavement, and then I walked into the seven story building. I jumped into the elevator just before the doors closed and hit the button for the third floor. I was relieved when the doors finally slid back open, the elevator music having nearly driven me to my wit's end.

"Hey Angela, is Crowley ready for me yet?" I asked, hoping that maybe he'd start our meeting with me early so I could get back to my thinking a lot sooner and make it home earlier to see Edward. _Shoot! I never told him I wouldn't be home today. I hope he isn't mad at me. Maybe he'll get my letter. Jeez, I'm so stupid!_

Angela and I had become great friends over the past four and a half years with how often I was in the office to meet with Crowley. We'd always been chattering away with each other while Crowley was meeting with other clients.

As I approached the desk, Angela looked up at me with a large smile. She hung up the phone after a quick goodbye. "Oh Bella! How are you?" she responded, standing up from her seat and pulling me into a hug that was slightly disrupted by the desk between us.

"Fabulous, actually. Things are looking pretty great right now."

"Mr. Crowley will be ready for you at ten thirty. He was up late last night reading your copy and overslept. I just got off the phone with him when you got in and my call was what woke him up. But, we all know he's a slow riser with how many times this has happened before," Angela answered my earlier question with a laugh.

I laughed with her. "That's Tyler for you."

"Yes. That is definitely a Crowley thing to do. His brother is the same way, unsurprisingly."

"So, Ange, how have things been for you?" I asked, hoping to use the next twenty minutes to catch up with her.

"Amazingly! Ben proposed!"

"No. Way! Oh my god, Ange, I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed as I ran around the desk to give her a real hug this time.

"I know! And it gets even better!"

"How?"

"He bought us a house! And it's absolutely perfect!"

"Jeez Ange! I think he's absolutely perfect for you! I don't how you found him, but I swear he's one that n you can't afford to lose."

"I know. He's the greatest. I don't know how I got so lucky as to fall in love with Ben." She got a dreamy look in her eyes, but then snapped out of it. "You have a sort of glow about you," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I remember the last time she'd said that to me. It was the day after _he_ had proposed.

She caught herself speaking those words as a pained expression fell on my face, remembering exactly the same thing that I had. "I'm sorry Bella. I just thought that, you know, maybe… Never mind." She looked down at the papers on the desk in front of her and began sifting through them as if looking for something.

I laughed. "His name's Edward," I said softly.

Her head shot up so quickly that I'm surprised her neck didn't snap. "Really?" she asked with a smile.

"He's Emmett's little brother. Edward's staying with us for the summer and he's a complete god in more ways than one." I smiled. "And I don't know what the hell is wrong with me." I collapsed on the couch dramatically. "I met him only two and a half days ago and I'm already going nuts over him."

Angela squealed. I knew I could confess everything, tell her each and every detail, from my confusing thoughts to our shocking touches, from the gazing blatantly into the other's eyes to the comfortable conversations. So, I did. And Angela just listened.

When I'd finally finished, Tyler tapped on my shoulder and directed me into his office. Looking at my watch, I saw that it was 10:45.

"You're late," I mused as I placed myself in one of his incredibly comfortable black leather chairs. He took a seat in the spinning black leather chair behind his desk and placed his hands in front of him.

"You expected me to be on time? My my, Bella, I thought you'd know me better by now," Tyler teased. "You look lovely today, by the way."

I blushed, looking down at my simple, dark green button up dress shirt with three quarter sleeves and tan slacks. I wore a simple pair of dark brown ballet flats and a gold chain necklace with a dark brown pendant. It was nothing extravagant, just a simple outfit that my mom bought for me for Christmas. I'd left my hair down, but pulled it back with a thin brown headband that blended in with my hair. Again, nothing that looked especially nice. I didn't wear any make up, so I didn't see how I looked 'lovely' in any way, but I accepted the compliment with a "Thank you".

"So, let's discuss your newest book."

"I think that's a good idea," I replied, happy that we were getting off of the subject of how I look and onto why I'm really here.

Tyler had appraised me for my looks every time I stepped into his office, so I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd mention something, but I still didn't understand why he thought I looked so great. I was really nothing special, nor did I ever try to be.

There were often times where Tyler would end our meetings by asking me if I'd like to go to lunch since my engagement had ended, and at first I just used the 'it's too soon. I'm just not ready' excuse. After a year and a half, the excuse was really not usable anymore and so I had to always make up some event or another where I'd have to be home immediately.

It was usually uncomfortable for me to sit in his office with him, as it was today, and every time I would leave, I'd consider finding a new publisher. But, as I always decided, I'd always stick with Tyler. Why? Because he was the best, and the truth was that I'd be nowhere without him. He was the only one ever willing to print my first novel, despite the number of people I spoke with. When it became such a hit, offers came pouring in, but I stuck with Tyler because he was the one who got me there in the first place. He was always good to me, and he was the greatest at what he did.

"I read through everything last night," he began.

"So I've heard," I replied with a smile.

"And I think this idea is absolutely stunning…" he trailed off as if there were more to say.

"But?"

"It's your best idea yet…"

"But?"

"But I think you need to make a few changes."

"Like what?" I asked. Tyler had never told me I really needed to ever make changes.

"Well, I think that you should take the same story line, but change the situation."

"How would I do that? Make the main characters into vampires?" I asked, stunned that he'd want me to make such a drastic change.

He looked like he was actually pondering the idea, and as I thought about it, I found it was a good idea. There were so many things I could come up with, so many occurrences that would be perfect for the story, that I grabbed his notepad and a pen and started writing things down.

"This is perfect! No! Even better. It's beyond perfect! I'm in freaking writer's heaven!" I exclaimed joyfully as I wrote note after note.

I looked up to see Tyler staring at me, stunned. "What?" I asked.

"I, uh, nothing."

I smiled. "I think that this is _the_ best idea you have _ever_ come up with. You are going to love this, and I assure you, so will everyone else. In fact, if you give me a week, I bet you I could have a rough draft of the first half of the book!"

"Really?" he asked.

"I could probably even have it finished by the end of the summer."

"Really?" he asked, smiling.

"Really. What to name it, though?"

I tapped the pen against my chin as I looked off into a corner in the room. I loved when I got on a roll like this. I could almost feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was on a writer's high, having just gotten my daily fix and more.

"That's it!" I exclaimed as it came to me.

"What?" Tyler asked as he looked at my jovial expression.

"_Forever Lovers_."

"What's that got to do with vampires?"

"Duh!" I said, as if what I was about to tell him was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was. "Vampires are immortal."

"Brilliant, Bella. Absolutely brilliant."

"Thank you," I replied, ripping the piece of paper out of Tyler's note book and returning the ad of paper to his desk. "Well, I'd love to stay, but I've got to be going," I said, not wanting to get stuck with creating another excuse from lunch.

"Wait, Bella. We never discussed your most recent release. Besides, don't you at least want your check?" Tyler stopped me.

I'd forgotten about that. Of course I wanted my check. It would finally pay off the rest of my college loans. I could have paid them off earlier, but I'd decided to store most of my money in an account for later on in life. I only had a small amount left of my student loans and this check would cover the final payment. I was ecstatic.

"You're right. I totally blanked," I said with a laugh. "So, my book…"

"Flying off the shelves. I swear that if you could get just a hundred more people to buy your books that out world would be out of trees," he said.

"Really?"

"Selling faster than any of your others. I was so surprised when I'd seen the numbers." He handed me two sheets of paper. On the first one was the number of books sold. Seeing the numbers, my eyes bugged out of my head and my mouth dropped open. I looked to the second page. My check. Seeing the digits printed on the page had me drooling. I thought I was about to pass out.

"OH MY GOD!" This number was HUGE! It'd more than easily cover my _entire_ college career and then some. "How…What…You're kidding me, right?"

"Sorry. No cruel jokes this time," Tyler replied.

I jumped out of my seat and ran to hug Tyler. I practically lunged at him when I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You're the best!" I turned and quickly kissed Tyler on the cheek. The guy was suddenly frozen in place. I knew that what I had done was totally unprofessional, but I didn't care. I'd just gotten a check for a million dollars! And my book was only out for a month! I'd sold over a million copies! I was so surprised that I was jumping around more than Alice on a coffee high!

"So, Bella, I was wondering if maybe I could take you out to a celebratory lunch?" Tyler asked smoothly, trying to sound suave.

I stopped my lunatic celebrations and turned to him with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Tyler, but I've really got to get home. My friend's brother is staying with us for the summer and I promised I'd show him around town today."

I hoped that using Edward as an excuse would get me out of the lunch this time.

"Okay. Maybe next time. I've got another appointment right now anyway," he said, sounding a bit defeated as he sunk back into his chair.

"Maybe," I replied. "I'll talk to you in a week." I grabbed my purse up from my chair and hugged my check to my chest.

I showed it all to Angela and she and I hugged and jumped around some more.

"Bella! Look at us! Good things come when deserved, and it looks like you and I both deserved some good lately. Wow! Imagine our luck."

"I know, Ange. Isn't life just perfect?"

"It is. And, as much as I'd love to continue talking, I've got to get back to the work." She gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Don't spend it all in one place, alright?" she joked.

"I won't. Talk to you later Angela. Give Ben my congratulations."

I hopped into the elevator and rode it down to the lobby. Once there, I made a mad dash for my car, only stumbling three times. Once inside the cab, I carefully put everything on the passenger seat and thrust my key into the ignition, the engine humming to life.

I was once again left four hours to think, and I wondered if my life really was perfect. It was getting there. Funny, how only days ago I thought everything was running perfectly. I loved my job, which was hardly even a job because I worked when I wanted to. I had all my best friends living with me in the same home. A home that was beautiful beyond belief. I had a good car and I had the money I needed to live as comfortably as I liked. I was happy, content.

Funny, how one man, one god, walking through your front door suddenly makes your world spin in a totally opposite direction. My life was perfect before, sure, but it was perfect for that time. Now, times have quickly changed, and so the view of perfection changed with it. Now, I wanted a man to be added into my life. Now, I had more money and no worries about my student loans. Now, I had a brilliant idea for a story that would knock the socks off my nation of readers. Now, I just had the chance for so much more, and taking that chance was the only was to reach such incredible perfection.

I didn't know just yet how I'd go pursuing those chances, those challenges, but I knew I'd do it.

**ALICE'S POV**

"Here, try all of these on," I said, dropping three pairs of jeans and five shirts into Edward's arms. He nodded and then walked into the dressing room.

"Hey, Alice?" Rose whispered next to me.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't we just tell Bella that he likes her as much as she likes him?" Rose whispered.

I didn't know why she was whispering. Edward was across the store in the dressing rooms.

"Because, Bella was hurt really badly, Rose. Edward needs to prove himself to Bella in order to be deemed worthy. And, I want to see Bella really making the effort too. I know she likes him, but the question is…Is she going to try to act on those feelings?"

"She told you about how she felt, but you and I both know that she promised herself she'd never act if she didn't have that feeling the way Jake had that feeling. I swear, when you told me she said something about a stupid feeling, I knew that she was feeling that Jacob stuff."

"So did I, but does she know?"

"Good question."

"Exactly. I want her to figure it out, but nudge her into the right direction."

"Yeah, but…"

"But?"

"But what if she ends up completely oblivious to the fact?"

"She won't. In fact, I think she's already figured it out."

"How would you know that?"

"I have a feeling about this one," I replied.

"Stupid pixie and her creepy feelings," Rose muttered, but she was smiling. "So, you really think she'll come out of that stupid shell that she's been hiding in since that D-Day night?"

Ah, the D-Day night. The night that Jacob and Bella separated. The stupid shell she'd encased herself in, hiding herself from even trying to find love, had been up since that night, but I could see it slowly chipping away, even after only two days with Edward. "She was hiding in that shell for forever Rose, and it's clearly fading. She stopped trying to find love, so this time, love found her."

"Here you go Alice," Edward said, dropping the black dress shirt, with the hardly noticeable white and purple stripes running vertically up and down the shirt, into my arms along with a pair of dark blue jeans.

"You have a very good fashion sense, you know that?" I commented to Edward.

"Just don't tell Emmett," he replied with a smile.

"Next stop, we are going to pick out your Steve Maddens," I said as I threw the outfit onto the counter and Edward pulled out a credit card, handing it to the cashier.

"Alright," was all Edward said in response. He looked dazed, and by the smile that was on his face, I was pretty sure he was thinking about Bella. Yes, love definitely found her, and Edward as well.

**BELLA'S POV**

I carried the bags of groceries out of my truck and up the steps. I was carrying my third bag, the one with the bottles of champagne inside, when I slipped and of course fell. I dropped the bag, which fell in front of me. My body landed on top of it and the shattered pieces of glass that had broken when the bag impacted the driveway's pavement. Pain instantly coursed through me and I could begin to smell the iron and rust that signaled the blood that came from my wounds.

The front door flew open and Emmett came running out.

"Bella? Are you okay?" he asked as he walked down the steps to help me.

"No," I managed out as I tried to push myself upright.

"Hold on, Bells." Emmett carefully moved me off the broken glass by my rolling me over to the side. I winced as a few pieces pressed slightly harder into my flesh before I finally relieved of the intruding pieces.

I lay on my back while I closed my eyes and tried to focus on keeping myself from passing out. The pain was incredible and the smell from my blood didn't help me keep from the darkness. I was covered in champagne, laying in it, too. I heard a car drive up and opened my eyes to a silver Volvo parking in the driveway right behind my truck.

Alice and Rose jumped out, running directly to me. Edward moved just as quickly, but he seemed even more worried than the rest of my friends.

"What happened?" Edward asked, a emotionless mask suddenly in place.

"Slipped, fell, landed on the broken champagne bottles," I responded, trying to refrain from inhaling my most hated scent.

Edward looked at the surrounding area and then back to me. He looked quickly at my torso and then said what I least expected him to say. "Rose, Alice, help me get her shirt off."

"What?" I almost screamed, my eyes widening.

"Bella, I'm a doctor, remember?" he asked.

I closed my eyes, feeling stupid for forgetting. Edward sat me up carefully, his arm wrapped from around my back as to not touch any of my cuts. Alice and Rose made quick work of my shirt, and I winced when I looked down to see the damage. I had at least fifteen cuts, five looking pretty deep judging by the blood that was seeping from them.

Edward examined each cut carefully before he picked me up in his arms and began carrying me inside. I wrapped my arms around his neck, afraid that he'd drop me, even though the pain from the gash in my shoulder protested the movement.

He placed me down carefully on the kitchen counter and then ran back outside to his car. I sat there, trying to look at the ceiling instead of my cuts, until Edward returned with a medical bag.

"Most of these just need to be cleaned and bandaged," he began telling me. "Butterfly Stitches on two. Stitches on three. I can do this here or we can bring you to the hospital. Your choice," he finished, looking up into my eyes.

I was deeply lost in the beautiful green orbs before I realized that he was still awaiting my answer. "Here," I replied, wanting Edward to be the one to take care of me.

"Alright." He put the bag on the counter and opened it up, placing a pair of gloves on his hands and then pulling out some cleaning solution. He put it on a cotton ball and began gently rinsing my cuts. I winced every few seconds because the antibacterial solution burned a bit, but not once did I move from under Edward's careful touch. He put some simple bandages over some cuts, butterfly stitches and gauze over two others, and then carefully stitched up three cuts after numbing the area. Then he covered those in gauze. A few were left uncovered, but those were hardly deep.

"All done," he said, lifting me off the counter and then placing me onto the ground.

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," I said softly but teasingly.

He chuckled. "No problem at all Bella. But, please don't scare me like that again," he said, as he stepped in front of me and took my hands in his. I looked up into his eyes and saw his care and concern. He was looking at me softly, but with such an intensity that I began to weaken under his gaze.

I finally looked away, unable to bare the intensity anymore, and wondered why I hadn't instead made the move that I so desperately wanted to. I wanted so much to just reach up and kiss him, but I was too chicken. So much for taking chances.

"Here Bella, put this on," Alice said, handing my one of my big t-shirts. I looked down and saw that I was still in just my bra. I blushed, my face probably brighter than a tomato as I realized that Edward had been looking at me without my shirt on for a good number of minutes.

I was about to throw the shirt on when Edward grabbed it from me. I was about to protest when Edward stopped me. "I just put stitches in your left shoulder. No way are you ripping those out in your haste to put your shirt back on."

"Oh, sorry," I replied. Slowly, he began helping me place the shirt on. After it was finally on my body, I relaxed a bit. "Thank you, again, Edward," I said.

**EDWARD'S POV**

"You don't need to thank me, Bella. It's my job," I replied, though I did things differently than normal because it was Bella. I bandaged more cuts than necessary, but I knew that I didn't want anything happening to her, so I took the precaution anyway. I took more care, and even caressed her skin at times, though I hoped she didn't notice. I was especially careful and made sure that I examined each cut for a minute or so. I triple checked for any glass in the cuts, and was more than relieved when there wasn't. When I shadowed in hospitals, or helped Carlisle out, I'd never taken such care, but then again, I'd never treated anyone who I had such extreme feelings for.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm not still grateful," she replied.

I took her hand, reveling in the feel of her soft skin against mine, and began leading her into the living room so that she could sit down. "I want you to sit and rest while I go clean up my things, okay?"

She nodded and I walked back into the kitchen to put my supplies away in my bag. Never did I ever think that having my bag at home with me would ever do me any good, but tonight I was so happy I did. I, myself, got to be the one to treat Bella, and not having to worry that there was any other doctor who wouldn't take every necessary precaution quickly eased my mind.

"Nice move, Doc," Rose said as she sauntered up to the counter.

"Yes, very, very nice," Alice chirped.

"Thanks," I said.

"You should probably keep that with you at all times," Rose said. "Bella gets herself into a lot of accidents."

I chuckled. "You aren't serious. Please tell me that this isn't a regular occurrence."

"Sorry, Edward, but this is the norm for that girl. It's one of the reasons that writing is so great for her. It's something she can do while she lays in bed and recovers."

"You're not joking, are you…"

"Nope," Alice said. She and Rose giggled at my expression. "They have a whole filing cabinet dedicated to Bella's hospital records."

"HALF A FILING CABINET!" Bella called from the living room. I seriously hoped she wasn't serious about the filing cabinet thing.

"Don't worry. She's a handful, but you looked like you we're enjoying working on her," Alice said comfortingly, and a lot more quietly.

"What tipped you off on that one?" I asked.

"You smiled every time Bella looked away from you so that you wouldn't get caught," Rose answered.

"So, I'm thinking we need to order out," Alice said. "Because I don't think Bella's up for making steaks."

"I'll cook," I said. "Just go into the fridge and grab me the burger patties I saw earlier."

Alice shrugged and skipped to the fridge. She pulled out the patties and tossed them across the kitchen to me. I pulled a frying pan off the ran and set it onto the stove before lighting the burner and spraying some PAM Non-Stick grease on the metal.

The sizzle of the burgers drowned out the sound of the TV in the other room and Alice and Rose just watched in wonder as I began making our evening meal.

"Are there any fries in the freezer?" I asked.

"Yeah," Alice said, looking inside the little ice world.

"Pass 'em," I said. She did as she was asked and I grabbed another pan before dumping some oil into it and lighting the burner on the stove.

"Hey Edward?" Emmett called.

"Yeah?" I called back.

"Come upstairs to my room. I need to talk to you really quickly."

I quickly flipped the burgers and figured I had two minutes before I could throw the fries into the oil, so I ran upstairs to Emmett's room.

**EMMETT'S POV**

I spent the entire day trying to work up the courage, and finally did it.

"Hey Edward?"

"Yeah?" he called from downstairs.

"Come upstairs to my room. I need to talk to you really quickly."

A few second later, Edward appeared in my doorway.

"Sit," I said, pointing to the chair at the desk in my room.

"Alright. So what's this about?"

"You know that Rose and I have been together for a little while now, right?"

"Yeah. Six months, right?"

"About."

"Okay…"

I sighed. "Look, Edward. I love her, a lot."

"I know. I can tell," he replied.

"And when you love someone that much, there's really only one more thing that you can do to prove that you love them," I continued.

"And that's…"

"I'm going to ask Rose to marry me," I said.

"Congrats."

"But I need your blessing. I know it sounds stupid, but of all the opinions that mean the most to me in the world, yours is at the top of the list," I finished.

"Of course you have my blessing, Emmett. Rose is great. I was surprised that you weren't already married to her just by the way I saw you two looking at each other," he said to me. By the way he was smiling at me, I could see he was telling the truth. We only wore those goofy smiles for one reason, and that's when we were seriously happy.

"Thanks man," I replied before standing up and walking to him. I put my hand to him and he shook it. I laughed before I clutched his hand tighter and pulled him up so I could hug him.

"Em…Can't…Breathe…" Edward said, gasping for air. I chuckled.

"Oops, sorry. Just a little excited."

"So, did you already pick out the ring?" Edward asked as he cracked his back. I must have gotten him pretty good on that hug, because he usually hating it when people cracked their bones like that.

"Not yet. Tomorrow," I said.

"Okay. Well, I've got dinner on the stove, so I've got to go back down stairs. And, no, you cannot make some snappy little comment about being a housewife or anything like that," he said as he left the room.

I smiled. My little brother, my very best friend, was back in my life and I was finally going to ask Rosalie to marry me. My Rosalie. Rosalie Hale Cullen, soon to be.

**BELLA'S POV**

I snuck into the kitchen to see what was cooking, only to see Edward standing over the stove putting fries into a pan. He grabbed a spatula and flipped the burgers and then placed a few slices of cheese on top.

"Haven't you done enough today?" I asked. He jumped, probably not hearing me enter the room.

"Nope," his velvety voice answered.

"Didn't mean to scare you," I said as I moved to take a seat on one of the stools at the counter. I sat down slowly because some of the cuts on my stomach were stinging as I took the seat.

"You hardly did. Although, I thought I left you to sit in the living room," he said as he came over to me with his crooked grin on his face. That sight was becoming my favorite thing to see.

"You did, and I decided that there was nothing good on the TV and came in here to make some dinner, only to see you cooking one."

He chuckled. "Okay. Fair enough. Though, later, you are going to lay down and not move a muscle until tomorrow morning."

"Works for me."

"So, what was the champagne for? Good news I hope…"

I smiled, remembering exactly what we were going to be celebrating. "Not just good. More like beyond incredible!" I exclaimed.

"Really?" he asked. He seemed truly intrigued. "What, may I ask, has got you so happy?"

"Come with me out to my car," I said, sliding off the stool. "And I'll show you exactly what it is."

**EDWARD'S POV**

I quickly ran around the counter and put my arm around Bella's waste. She looked up at me. "I'm capable of walking you know," she said with a smile.

"Somewhat," I replied jokingly.

"You don't have to help me walk though," she said, but I could still see the smile on her lips.

I leaned down to her and whispered in her ear. "I know, but I want to."

I began walking her to the front door and out to her car. Emmett had already cleaned up the scene of the accident, which I was glad for, so we just walked straight down the steps and to her car. She pulled open the passenger seat and grabbed a few papers and her purse off the seat, never breaking our contact.

She shut the door and we began walking back to the house. She leaned her head onto my shoulder as we made the short walked and I couldn't help the smile that slid onto my face. I carefully rubbed her side a little bit before I helped her back onto her stool.

"Thanks," she said, smiling the same smile that I'm sure my face was displaying.

"Anytime," I replied.

"So, here's the numbers for the sales on my newest book," she said as she slid a piece of paper onto the counter. I looked at the seven digit number and then to Bella's face. My eyes were wide.

"That's incredible Bella."

"Wait 'til you see this." She slipped another piece of paper onto the counter and I looked at it. It was a check.

"Your pay check?" I asked confused.

"Read the amount it's made out for."

I saw yet another seven figure number and muttered a curse of surprise. I looked up to Bella he was still smiling. "So it looks like you _really_ had a reason to celebrate tonight."

"Even more than you think," she said. "This was supposed to just be the pay check that made the last payment on my student loans. This thing does that and sets me up for what ever else I want to do. I have a billion things to be celebrating."

"Congratulations," I said, not really sure what else to say. I was honestly truly ecstatic for Bella and couldn't help but to love seeing her so happy, but I really didn't know how to show her just how happy I was for her.

I knew how I wanted to show her, but I didn't know if I should. I wanted to kiss her. One, nice, tender kiss that showed her I was incredibly happy for her. But, I didn't know if she would accept it.

She jumped up from her stool and came around the counter to me.

**BELLA'S POV**

"Congratulations," he said. I could see he wanted to say more, do something more, but just didn't know what to do. I jumped up from the stool and ran around the counter. I intended to just give him a hug, which I did, but I was too excited and I was far too ecstatic.

_Taking chances…_

I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me. I pressed my lips to his and I could feel him smile as our lips crashed together.

I dropped one of my arms - my shoulder had been screaming in protest when I'd thrown my arms around his neck - and placed the hand of that arm on his hip. His arms came around me and lay perfectly at the small of my back.

I took a step closer to him, allowing myself to be slowly pressed against his solid body.

The kiss had the same intensity as I'd seen held in his eyes and it lit a burning passion, and all this with neither of us even deepening it.

"Whoa. Eddie and Squirt are making out. It burns!" Emmett cried out as he interrupted what I felt was the most amazing moment, touch, and kiss I had ever experienced.

Breathlessly, I looked up to see Edward's reaction. "I've been dying to do that since the first moment I saw you," he whispered just as breathless as I was.

**EDWARD'S POV**

She was kissing me.

_She _was kissing me.

_She _was _kissing _me.

_She_ was _kissing me._

_She was kissing me._

_**She **__was kissing me._

_**She was kissing me.**_

_**SHE WAS KISSING ME! YES!!**_

All too soon, my darling brother had to ruin something I'd so much wanted for the past three days.

When she looked up at me, I whispered to her, "I've been dying to do that since the first moment I saw you."

"Same here," she replied.

I could still feel the heat charging through my body, the electric shocks tingling along my lips. Her soft lips had been on mine, and even just that little bit of contact drove me nearly insane…but it was a state of insanity that I was really liking.

I realized that I had to take the burgers off the stove, so I reluctantly stepped away from Bella and grabbed a plate from the cabinets. I used the spatula to take them out of the skillet and put them onto the plate. I was surprised that they were absolutely perfect. They usually don't take that long to cook, although I guess it was only five or six minutes and I did have the flame lower than usual. I pushed the French fries around with the spatula. They still had ten minutes or so.

I turned back around to Bella who hadn't moved from where she was.

"Now, where were we?" I asked.

"We just got busted, there, buddy. So, I think I'll go face the humiliation while you hide out here in the kitchen," she said as she began to go make her way to the living room. I could tell she was blushing. She quickly turned to me in the doorway, the red blush coloring her face beautifully. "But, we can continue this tomorrow morning."

I smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

**ROSALIE'S POV**

"Ew! Gross! Edward…Bella…lip lock!" Emmett was ranting.

I stopped him suddenly. "Wait…they were…KISSING?!"

"Yes!" he shouted throwing his arms up exasperatedly.

"What's wrong with that?" I asked.

"Edward's my little brother, so I don't like watching him make out, first of all. And then second, Bella's like my little sister! Do you think I like seeing them kissing? No!"

I laughed. "You know, Edward really likes Bella, a hell of a lot more than you'd think. And Bella likes him too. And to think that you of all people wouldn't the two of them to be so happy."

"Oh come on Rosie. You know it's not like that. It's just…never mind. Hey, wait. How do you know that Edward really likes Bella?"

"Why do think he wanted mine and Alice's help?"

"No way! Really?"

"Really. But you can't tell him I told you that. And truth is, he didn't really need our help, apparently."

"But..."

"And Emmett, if you screw this up for them, I will have your head."

"Which one?" he asked, thinking he was a real smartass.

"The one you think with the most," I replied. "And that would be the one in your pants."

He immediately went to protect himself, and so I took that as my time to go tell Alice the good news.

**ALICE'S POV**

"Hey, Ally," Jasper said as he pulled me to him.

I placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Hey Jazzy."

He leaned down for a real kiss, and I eagerly accepted. A few moments later we were broken out of our kiss when Emmett shouted, "Whoa. Eddie and Squirt are making out. It burns!"

I was completely shocked. Was he serious? Jasper held me close, but whispered, "What is he yelling about?" into my ear.

His breath on my skin made me shiver, loving the feel of it. I almost forgot what he'd asked me, but quickly remembered and ran out of his grasp and to the kitchen, only to nearly run into Bella as she exited the room.

"But, we can continue this tomorrow morning," Bella said, turning to face Edward.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied, smiling like a little boy on Christmas.

"Oh, hey Alice," Bella said as she saw me. I could see her blushing a deep crimson and for a moment was afraid that her face would freeze that way.

"You didn't…" I said.

"I did!" she said, smiling the same as Edward was.

I was about to throw my arms around her when I remembered her injuries. I carefully hugged her and then released her so I could bounce around like the little energizer bunny that I was.

"Rose! Get your butt down—"

"I'm already right here, Alice. Chillax," Rose said as she grabbed me during my bouncing fit.

I giggled. "Sorry. Can you believe it?"

"Nope. Wait, Bella, did he kiss you first?" Rose asked.

"I…um…sort of kissed him," she said as she nervously drew a circle in the floor.

Rose and I looked at each other as we realized the miracle that had occurred today. Bella hadn't just come out of her shell, she burst through the confinement!

"Oh my god Bells! I'm so happy for you!" Rose and I cried out at the same time.

"I'm happy for me too," she said with another huge smile in place. "I don't think I've really been this happy for a while."

We all knew this was true, but I could tell there was something more that had her smiling.

"Dinner!" Edward called from the kitchen.

Emmett and Jasper ran past us and into the kitchen. Us girls followed and took our seats.

Rose next to Emmett…

Me next to Jasper…

And Bella next to Edward.

- - -

**BELLA'S POV**

While everyone else cleared the table, Edward helped me upstairs to my bedroom.

He sat down on my bed as I went to my dresser to grab my pajamas. I was about to go into my bathroom to change when Edward, once again, stopped me.

"Do you want me to do that or should I go get Alice?" he asked, clearly amused that he knew I couldn't change myself.

"Alice," I said, knowing that even though I'd just kissed him, I wasn't ready to have him taking my clothes off of me…yet.

He nodded and then called down to Alice.

"Yeah?" she asked when she got to the door.

"You need to help Bella change so that she doesn't hurt herself or do anything to the stitches," Edward told her.

"But Edward, why don't you do it yourself?" she teased.

"Fine, Edward, come help me," I said.

He chuckled. "I'm only teasing you Bella," Alice said. "Come on, in the bathroom."

Alice and I went into the bathroom and she did as Edward instructed before leaving and going back down stairs. I brushed my teeth, feeling too tired to really stay up much later.

I went back into the room and was surprised to see Edward still sitting on my bed.

"Cute," he said as he looked at my pajamas. They were a simple tank top, with a 'B' on the center, and black gym shorts.

"Thanks, I guess," I said.

"Are you feeling a little better?" he asked.

I sat down on the bed next to him. It had only been a few hours since I'd injured myself, but I was quickly feeling the pain lessen, mainly because I was getting used to it. "Better," was my simple answer.

"Good to know," he said.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before we both turned to look at each other at the same time.

He leaned in slowly and kissed me tenderly but still intensely. His lips against mine felt too right. Mine moved in sync with his, but he pulled back far too quickly.

"Goodnight, Bella," he said. He kissed my forehead before standing up and walking over to the door.

"Goodnight Edward," I said as he left my room.

_Damn, good luck sleeping now Bella._


	6. I Could Toast To That

**a/n: sorry for the long time between updates. I spent another seven or eight hours on this chapter guys so I hope you don't think it was time wasted. You will see ALL about the engagement night soon enough, I promise. The ring will be on my profile when the chapter with the engagement is posted. I'm going to try to post more often here, at least three more times in the next week, and I'm again really sorry about the delay in posting. Please review so I can hear your thoughts, because as hard as I try, I'm no mind reader like Edward (sigh) is...though he isn't the fabulous mind reading vampire in this story.**

**BELLA'S POV**

"_Not worth it, Bella…" his voice filled my ears as a ghost of his face appeared in the small dark room around me._

"_Yes I am!" I disagreed. The room fell smaller._

"_Not good enough, Bella…"_

"_Like you have any right to say so?" I snapped back. I was trapped in here, no escape._

"_You weren't enough for me… Why would you be enough for anyone else?"_

"_No, stop it," I ordered quietly, feeling the defeat overwhelm me and losing any strength I'd had moments ago._

"_Give up, Bella. No one could ever feel that way about you…"_

"_Shut up, just shut up," I asked of him. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Why wouldn't he stop?_

"_You're not good enough for anybody. I didn't love you…"_

"_Please," I whimpered, falling to me knees and covering my face with my hands. "Just shut up," I begged through my tears._

"_And neither could he."_

I woke up in a cold sweat, a small yelp escaping my lips. I looked around my large bedroom, saw the door on the side of the room open a crack. Light seeped through from the hallway, creating a small stream of light that hit the far corner of my room. My alarm clock read 4:07 AM as the bright red numbers blinked furiously, lighting my nightstand in the pitch black of the night.

I debated whether or not to get out of bed and start working on my story, for fear of the same nightmare I'd had all these years on particularly emotional nights, or to go back to sleep and only hope for the best.

Soon enough, my decision was made for me as my eyelids dropped and I felt too drained to even sit myself up. I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed the remote control, pressing the button to turn on the fan in my bedroom.

Feeling no better than when I'd originally awoken, but a bit more comfortable in the cooler atmosphere of my bedroom, I allowed my eyes to close once again.

It was not long before the blanket of sleep overcame me and I drifted into a peaceful, dreamless rest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

I felt cool lips press to my forehead, the bed dipped slightly from the weight of another on my mattress, and I smiled. A familiar scent wafted my way and I didn't need to open my eyes to know that there was a cup of coffee or two in my bedroom.

"There had better be a cup of coffee for me, too, if you're going to be waking me up before I want to be up," I said, feigning annoyance, as I popped one eye open to see a beautiful Edward sitting on my bed next to me.

He chuckled, reaching over to the nightstand and pulling a mug off the wooden surface. I caught sight of the clock and saw it was already 10:30 AM. "Did you sleep well?" his velvety voice asked me, all nightmares of last night suddenly forgotten and my body being jolted awake.

He handed me the coffee after I sat up and I took a sip before replying. "Could have been better, but I've had worse," was my simple reply, and I hoped he wouldn't want to hear more details.

He just smiled his beautiful crooked smile at me. "As long as it wasn't terrible," he said. He leaned in to kiss me on the lips, but I quickly put my mug to my mouth and sipped.

He seemed both confused and hurt at what I'd done, so I felt the need to clarify. "Morning breath," I told him. He nodded. "So, what's everyone else up to this morning that you felt bored enough to wake me up?" I teased.

"Read for yourself. I find all of you so very interesting with these little notes you all leave," Edward replied, handing me the piece of stationary that we always used to write our notes on.

"_I went in on the early side because I took the day off yesterday. I have meetings ALL day long so don't bother calling me if you need anything. My phone will be off so if there is an absolute emergency –cough cough Bella cough cough— then call my secretary and have him patch you through. I've got a dinner meeting, as well, and it's a good two hour drive away so I'll be home late. Don't wait up!_

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Rose_

_P.S. Waking up at 4 AM really bites._

_P.P.S. Bella and Edward: Don't do anything I wouldn't do."_

I laughed. "Well, that's Rose for you. Not exactly a morning person." I ignored the comment about Edward and me.

"No, but who honestly is a morning person at four in the morning?"

"True."

"_I'm in the same boat as Rosalie this morning as far as getting to work early and staying late. Like I said the other day, I'm working on a big project, a great new buyer and all is coming around and I'm really desperate to hook her. I'll be back around 8 or so. Don't bother with dinner for me, I'll grab something on the way back from my office._

_Your favorite little pixie,_

_Alice."_

"Well, that's two less for dinner," I said before going on to the next and final message on the paper. Judging by the snoring that I was hearing and the fact that Edward and I were in my room…on my bed…it was Jasper's note.

"_I have a few new clients today. Business is really picking up. After those appointments, I'll be heading over to the Port Angeles Hospital to volunteer my time for a bit. Going to meet Alice at her office and take her to a surprise dinner so don't worry about feeding me tonight Bells._

_Jasper._

_P.S. Bella: Listen to Edward when he tries to help you take care of your injuries or I'll unleash Alice's wrath on you. Got it?"_

"Jasper has given me strict instructions to listen to Dr. Cullen about my injuries," I joked with Edward. "I think I'll listen to him, but only because I fear for my life when it comes to Alice's wrath."

He chuckled, and the sound made my heart beat speed up an incredible amount.

"So, I take it that Emmett is still snoring his brains out in his room?" I asked.

"Most definitely."

"Alright. I think I need to go clean up, get changed, and get to work," I said.

When I looked up to Edward, he appeared a bit saddened or disappointed, but I couldn't quite understand why. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, which had him grinning, but it wasn't that crooked grin I was so fond of.

I got up from the bed, cursing when a bit of pain hit me from my procured injuries, and made my way to the dresser, Edward still sitting on my bed. His eyes followed me as I bent down to pull out the drawer and grabbed a pair of mesh shorts and a tank top. I pulled out a bra and underwear, being careful to hide them within my stack of clothes before Edward could catch a glimpse.

As soon as I shut my en-suite bathroom door behind, Edward and I both seemed to realize the same thing.

"Shit!" I yelled under my breath.

"Bella? Do you need…er…help?" Edward asked nervously from the other side of the door.

"I do," I muttered back. "But I really wish Alice or Rose was here."

He chuckled, once again a slightly nervous sound, before he turned the door knob and came into the bathroom. A small smile played on my lips, though it was more apologetic than anything else. "Relax Bella," he said. "I'm a doctor, and I want to change the bandages and check your stitches again this morning anyway." He was trying to reassure me, but it felt more as though he was telling himself.

"Alright," I sighed. I turned so that my back was to him and started lifting my shirt as far as I could. Edward than took the bottom hem from my hands and pulled it the rest of the way off, slipping it off my right arm first, then off my head, and finally down my left arm, not once jostling my left shoulder.

I quickly moved my right arm to cover my breasts which were exposed fully, though he couldn't exactly see them as we weren't facing each other.

"Thanks," I said.

"No trouble," he responded before slipping out the door and shutting it swiftly. With the door finally closed, I started a bath, knowing I really couldn't get my stitches wet. Once I had enough water in the tub, but still making sure none would be touching my stitches, I stripped off my underwear and pajama bottoms.

I sat into the hot water, it felt nice against my skin, though it hardly touched any of it. I sat for a few moments before I began washing up. I was used to this, taking baths and having to be careful of what I did and did not get wet, so it wasn't exactly difficult… until I got to my hair, that is. I could only use one hand to lather my strawberry shampoo into my hair. I used one of the glasses I usually kept next to the sink to dump water on my head to wash in out. The conditioner was easier to wash out than the shampoo.

I got out of the tub and let it drain while I did my best to towel off. My hair was, once again, difficult, so after a few futile attempts I just threw it up into a messy bun and continued on with the rest of my body. Once dried, I slipped on my clean underwear and shorts and put my bra on part way. I managed to get it all the way up to cover my breasts and put the right strap on, but was quite unsuccessful with the left strap.

I sighed. "Edward?!" I called out, hoping he was still on my bed.

I heard footsteps coming toward the bathroom door, but it didn't open. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Come in here if you want to check all of these cuts and what not. Some of the gauze does need to be changed and a bandage or two too, at least," I told him.

"Alright," he said, slowly turning the door knob and then quietly opening the door.

I turned to him and smiled.

_Screw it. I'm in a bra without a shirt. Whoopty-do. Just forget about that, Bella._

"Check away Dr. Cullen," I said as I popped myself up onto the marble bathroom counter, a newfound confidence fueling me in my actions. The stone was icy so I shivered involuntarily.

Edward chuckled. "Cold?" I nodded. "Okay, then." He pulled his medical bag out from behind his back. I hadn't really gotten a good look at him this morning, but he looked well-rested and more handsome than the day before. His hair wasn't as tousled, but it was still incredibly disheveled. He wore dark blue jeans with some faded spots, though I suspected he'd bought them that way as they didn't look worn out enough to be that faded from use, and a tight green t-shirt that matched his beautiful, piercing green eyes. "What are you smiling about Miss Swan?" Edward asked teasingly as he set his things on the counter and fished out a pair of glasses and a few anti-bacterial wipes.

"Good question," I muttered, though I did know the answer.

He began removing the gauze and the bandages that he'd placed so carefully yesterday, disposing of them before he began to clean around them with the wipes. He applied an anti-bacterial cream to the open wounds and then a different cream to the stitched gashes. He then put bandages over the opens that he felt such was necessary and taped some gauze over the stitched wounds. He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before he held out his hand to help me down.

"All done," he said as I hopped off.

"Great. Now I need you to help me with my strap and my tank top," I told him, blushing a light crimson I'm sure. He did as asked without any funny business what so ever, which I honestly didn't know if I was happy about or if I was disappointed. I brushed my teeth and he packed up his nice little black bag. Once I'd shut off the water and spit out all of that minty-goodness, I turned to Edward and planted my lips on his, thoroughly surprising the both of us.

Our lips moved in sync together for a minute or so before I finally pulled back. "Thanks," I said to him, and then turned back to the mirror, a smug smile on my face, and pulled the scrunchy out of my hair, beginning to brush the soaking wet brown locks out with only one hand. You'd think I would have only needed one, but for some reason it was just too difficult.

I could still see Edward's stunned expression in the mirror, and a small giggle escaped my lips.

When I finally brushed my hair well enough, I threw it back up into a ponytail and walked back into my bedroom, almost slipping on the still wet tiles of the bathroom. Edward followed behind me and plopped down onto my bed.

"Did you make my bed?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm a neat freak some days," he replied. I laughed.

"What are you? OCD?" I joked.

He shrugged. "I'm close enough," he joked back, though I had a feeling that he may have been half serious.

I heard some grumbling from the room across the hall and knew that Emmett was awake now.

"So he lives!" I called out loud enough for Emmett to hear.

"Shut it Squirt!" he called back, causing Edward and I to collapse onto my bed in fits of laughter.

Emmett came into my bedroom, dressed for his day off, and glared at Edward and myself.

"Good morning to you dear brother," Edward said after his chuckles died down.

Emmett stuck out his tongue.

"Wow, mature. Mother and Father would just love to see that. Especially when they hear you're proposing," Edward said, mocking disgust.

I gasped and looked between Edward and Emmett several times with my mouth hanging open.

"You're…You're…You're what?" I asked.

"Oh jeez, sorry Em. I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry, Edward. I actually was coming in here to tell Bells anyway," Emmett said.

"You're going to propose…to Rose?" I asked.

"No, I'm going to propose to Elmo," Emmett replied sarcastically.

"Why would you even want to tell me this?" I asked, curiously.

"Because I need yours and Edward's help."

"What for?"

"Well…" He continued on to explain his entire plan for the proposal, and what exactly he'd need from Edward and myself.

"Alright, I can do that. But, why, may I ask, don't you have Alice do some of that stuff? I mean, she's three hundred times better with fifty percent of the things you want me to do."

"Because, the little pixie has a big mouth," he answered.

"No she doesn't. She's great at keeping secrets."

"Well, yes, but you always know when she's got a plan."

"True," I agreed. "Alright. I can do all that for you, I think."

"Thanks, you wouldn't believe how much that means to me Bella," Emmett said before he bent down and hugged me. This wasn't his normal bear hug, and that alone told me that my favors were going to mean a hell of a lot.

"I'm in too," Edward said. Emmett and Edward gave each other real hugs, and not those 'I'm too man to hug another man' hugs, but that's easy considering they're brothers.

"Thanks man."

"It's almost noon, so do you guys want some lunch?" I asked.

"I'd love some, but just a sandwich or something Bells, because I've got to go head over to the jewelers and pick up Rosie's ring," Emmett answered with a smile on his face.

"Hope it's a nice one or Mom'll kill you," Edward teased.

"I'm sure it's a great ring, Edward," I said in a back off tone. I could already see that the nerves had Emmett a little frazzles just by the fact that his t-shirt was inside out. I would make sure to mention that to him before he leaves.

I got up off the bed and began walking down stairs, only stumbling twice by the time I reached the fridge. I pulled out some ham, salami, provolone, mayonnaise, mustard, and Italian rolls. I sliced three rolls in half, spread on some mayo and mustard, placed three slices of salami, a good chunk of ham, and two slices of provolone on each, and then went back to the fridge, having forgotten to pull out some lettuce and tomato. I grabbed the shredded lettuce that I'd left for anyone to make sandwiches yesterday while I wasn't home, and a fresh tomato. I sliced the tomato into thin slices and place three on top of the provolone and then finished it off with a small handful of the shredded lettuce. I closed each sandwich, placed them each on a plate, and grabbed a knife of the cutlery holder. I sliced the sandwiches in two and then placed a toothpick in each half.

"Wow," Edward and Emmett both said as they watched.

"I've got skills," I bragged.

They laughed, each taking a plate with a sandwich and sitting down at the seats by the counter. I took the empty seat between them and the three of us dug in.

"This is great, Bells, thanks," Emmett said to me through a mouthful of food.

"Puh-lease. It's only an Italian Sub," I brushed the compliment off.

"Yes, but only you can make a simple Italian Sub taste gourmet," Edward whispered in my ear with his velvet voice. I blushed, but said nothing in response.

Once all of us were finished, Edward picked up the plates and brought them over to the sink, washing them.

I leaned over to Emmett, seeing this as the chance to not embarrass him by telling him in front of Edward, and whispered in his ear, "You're shirt is inside out."

He looked down at himself before his booming laugh sounded through the room. "I guess it is." He pulled it off and turned it right-side-out before putting it back on. He kissed me on the cheek, as always, and then went over to Edward, patting him on the back. "I'll see you two later and we can start taking care of things tomorrow, alright? Bells, I'm out on dinner tonight too," he said before leaving the room and heading out the front door.

"So, what are we doing today?" Edward asked me as he shut off the water and came over to lean across the counter so that our faces were merely inches apart.

"Well, _I _am going to be working on my next book for the day, and _you _are welcome to do as you please," I told him. His face seemed to drop…again, and I wanted nothing more than to make him happy at the moment. "I mean, I guess you could hang out with me, but it won't be too interesting. I'll just be sitting up in my bedroom, typing away on my laptop and muttering to myself."

"Do you have any good books I could read?" he asked.

"Tons," I replied and I could see the crooked grin sneak its way back onto his kissable lips.

"Then I'm game," he replied before leaning the last few inches forward and kissing me on the lips and then pulling back seconds later.

_Wow, he's an amazing kisser… _I thought as I realized my slightly more labored breathing.

"I, um, alright then," I said, still in a still stupor from his kiss. I dazedly made my way up the steps and into my bedroom, Edward following close on my heels, and grabbed the book I'd just finished reading off my desk. "Catch," I said before passing the book across the room. He caught the book easily and plopped down on the right side of my queen sized bed.

_Good, he likes the right. I prefer the left any—whoa stop right there Bella. Not yet._

I grabbed my laptop and set it on the empty half of my bed before going over to my windows and opening the shades for some natural lights.

"Oh fabulous. Another rainy day in Forks," I groaned. Some days I wonder why I agreed to move here, but then I remember how we all thought this was the most perfect house and we could never find a place like this anywhere else. "Why would I have thought that we could have had more than four days in a row without the rain. Even those four days were incredibly generous from the sky," I mumbled to myself as I went back to my bed.

"Really? How often does it rain here?" Edward asked, not even having opened his book yet.

"Usually everyday. We get an occasional dry spell here and there, but that's rare. I've only been here three months and the rain is driving me out of my mind."

His response was just a few chuckles. Then he changed the subject. "So, what's this book about?" he asked me as I grabbed my notebook and my pen off my nightstand.

"A girl who inherits a fortune from some uncle she never knew existed because he's her father's brother, and her father was like completely thrown out of the family for marrying her mother. Anyway, these bombs start going off around her, and so her best friend's brother, a cop recovering from a shot to his shoulder, starts protecting her. But, it is a romance so, as you can guess, the two fall in love and so on and so forth," I explained quickly, hoping I didn't give too much away.

"Sounds cool," he said.

"I liked it. My friend, Ben Cheney, wrote it. He's a pretty good writer, though this one he co-wrote with some other female author, one who I've never met before. Apparently, it was Tyler's idea. But, Ben's pretty cool. He does all the crime stuff, the romance stuff was that girl's job. Although, Ben is rather romantic, having stolen my Angela's, my friend, heart. He is so sweet sometimes. He just proposed," I told him, then realizing he really didn't need to know all this.

"Is it just me, or is everyone you know getting married?" he asked jokingly.

When I thought about, I realized he was right. It didn't exactly feel to great to know that I was the only one who wasn't engaged in our groups. I was always the fifth wheel before Edward came around, and I'll be that again once he leaves. Sure, I wished with all my heart that this could last, but for some reason I just wondered if it really would be more than a summer romance.

I felt him pulling on my hand. "Hey," he said softly, looking at me with concern. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's okay," I responded. "It's just, you are right. Everyone is, and as soon as the summer's over and you've left for Port Angeles, I'll be all alone again."

He grinned and kissed my cheek, smiling. "Who said I was leaving to go to Port Angeles?"

"I thought you were going to move out there for work…"

"I was, until Alice and Rose told me that if I left, they would drag me back into this house by my hair and tie me to a chair so that I couldn't leave, not that I'd be leaving willingly," he said, kissing me on the cheek again. "Supposedly, you guys all like me and are already loving living with me. Plus, I kind of like my hair and wouldn't want Alice and Rose tugging at it to get me back into this place."

I giggled, feeling a little better. "Well, that sounds good to me," I told him as I booted up my laptop.

"Yeah, it sounded pretty good to me too," he said before he got up and ran out of the room, only to come back in seconds later.

"Where'd you run off to Speedy?" I asked as he laid back down.

"Just had to grab my glasses," he replied.

"I didn't know you wore glasses," I said to him as he put them on. They looked incredibly gorgeous on him. They only added to the beautiful definition of his strongly set face. The thin frames and small square lenses looked nearly invisible, yet gave him this very sophisticated appearance. _Very sexy…_

"Only to read," he replied before sitting back, tossing his shoes off his feet onto the floor, crossing his legs at his ankles and opening the book to the first page.

I clicked a few things on my laptop and finally got into my Microsoft Word and opened up a fresh, clean document, starting to type the opening of my story.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I tried to focus on the book, but with the beautiful angel seated beside, I was having a little trouble keeping the little tiny words on the perfectly smooth paper the only things on my mind. I watched Bella as she typed furiously on her laptop. It was interesting, you know, to watch one of your favorite authors of all time in the actual process of writing a book that you'd someday read. She seemed so focused, that it was almost scary to be honest.

Her delicate, long fingers moved rapidly over the keys as word after word appeared on the blank document screen. Her face was lovely, as always, but it had just that more of an edge to it as her eyes never deterred from the screen. Her nose wrinkled often when she didn't like something and her index finger would hold the 'backspace' key until the offending sentence(s) was gone. She'd laugh on occasion when she felt something was particularly witty or funny and she'd smile whenever she really liked something. She mumbled the things she wanted to write aloud when she was wondering how they sounded, and I wondered if she even realized she did it or if it was just a natural thing like breathing.

So often was I suppressing the urge to kiss her beautiful as her expression changed. There were a few times where pieces of hair would escape her messy pony tail and I'd reach out to pull it back behind her ear, but then I'd stop myself and she'd do so herself, not even realizing my hand had moved from the book I was 'reading'.

I couldn't get the image out of my head of this morning. Sure, she was covered in cuts and gashes, but her body was still that of a goddess. Aphrodite herself stood before me as I tried to focus on being Dr. Cullen and not Edward the guy who had just kissed this woman the night before.

I turned back to my book, trying once again to focus on the words that were dancing across the page. When my efforts, yet again, proved fruitless, I looked back to Bella. She had now transferred her laptop onto the bed in front of her, and she sat pretzel style with a pad of paper in her lap and a pen in her hand. She twirled the pen around in her fingers and tapped it on the pad as she thought intently. A few moments later, she began sucking on her pen cap, a horrible habit that I often found as a pet peeve of mine, though now I found it very sexy.

A few thoughts, ones that shouldn't have appeared, were floating around in my mind, and I tried my hardest to get rid of them by looking away and staring at the blue walls. I looked back to the book.

_Even if I can't focus on what I'm reading enough to get the story, I can at least speak the sentences in my mind to distract myself._

So, that's what I did; only glancing at her out of the corner of my eyes every so often. It worked okay for a while, but soon I found myself becoming a bit drowsy.

It was as if reading these words was like counting sheep.

**BELLA'S POV**

"Hey Edward, I was thinking about calling this one of two things. I could go for _Forever Lovers_, the sappy title, or I could go with _Love Bites_, a funny little two meaning title. What do you think?" I asked. I got no response.

I turned to look at Edward, only to find him asleep, the book still in his hands, lying on his chest. He looked so peaceful, even more like a god than before, if that were even possible.

I looked at the time, it was 7:30 PM. I'd been writing for at least seven hours and had a good forty-five pages typed up on Word. That was probably the fastest I'd ever typed _any _of my stories, but then again, this story was just flowing to me. I did already have the story written in a human form, if I was being honest, so I just had to change the plot around a little and make things a little more inhuman so that it could be a story of vampirism. The best thing, though, seemed to be how much comedy and plot twists you could include, there were just so many more options.

Brushed a stray strand of hair off of Edward's forehead and carefully removed his glasses from his face. His nose twitched a little when my fingers lightly brushed it, but his face settled back once again and a smile graced his lips. I lightly kissed his lips in a chaste kiss and then removed my book from his hands, placing the two items on my nightstand before I got up and went into my bathroom.

After taking care of business, I looked in the mirror at my appearance. I didn't look great, so I pulled my hair down from the ponytail. It settled nicely around my shoulders, now dry, and I brushed through it to get rid of any of the rare waves and bumps. I grabbed the basics of make up that Alice required me to wear: Eyeliner and lip gloss. I drew on the navy blue line on my bottom lid, not wanting to use it on the top lid today, and then pulled out my soft pink lip gloss, spreading it across my bottom and top lip with my index finger. I washed my hands, dried them on the towel, and then my way back into my silent bedroom.

Edward was still asleep on my bed and it didn't even look like he'd moved since I'd gone into the bathroom, which must have been about fifteen minutes ago. I don't do makeup or hair very fast.

I moved my laptop off my bed after saving the document and placed my notebook and pen on top of it. Then I climbed onto my vacant side of the bed and laid down beside Edward, feeling rather tired myself as I remembered why my night's sleep hadn't exactly been too restful.

I yawned as my head hit my pillow, and not seconds later did I nod off into dreamland, being met with the face of a beautiful green-eyed god.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I hadn't quite opened my eyes when I'd woken up, quite comfortable where I was. Though, it wasn't seconds later that I realize I held a soft, warm body in my arms. I opened my eyes, seeing that I had rolled over onto the half of the bed where Bella lay and held none other than my beautiful Bella in my arms.

She was sleeping quietly, her mouth slightly ajar, her lips glistening with a lip gloss shimmer. Her eyes were softly closed and her hair flowed carelessly over the side of her face. Her body was facing mine, pressed tightly against mine. Her legs were intertwined with mine and her chest rose and fell with her breathing, fully in sync with mine. I knew I should have let go and gotten up, but I was too happy to hold this incredible woman in my arms to not do so.

Looking over her shoulder, I saw it was now dark outside. I was curious as to what time it was, but I didn't want to move to see my watch incase the movement caused her to stir. So, I lay there, watching her as she slept, my face on the pillow only inches from hers. I couldn't help but think about how right this felt, laying here with her in my arms, her head resting on the pillow, right next to mine. I don't know what made me think about it, but it did feel just that; it felt right.

Not much later, her beautiful brown eyes fluttered open and met with mine.

"Good evening, Bella," I said to her softly.

"Second time today I've woken up to your face," she said with a smile.

"True, but this was only the first time I've woken up to yours," I said, placing a quick peck on her lips.

She giggled before lifting her hand to my face. "You've got lip gloss on your lips." She wiped the cosmetics from my lips but then looked down at our entwined bodies. "How did this happen?" she asked. She only sounded curious, not upset or annoyed or disapproving, as she asked, and she made no move to remove herself from my hold.

I chuckled. "That's a very good question. I honestly couldn't tell you, although I believe a lot of it is my fault."

"Yeah, I suppose we'll just blame you," she teased. "So, what time is?"

I looked at my watch. "Ni—"

_SLAM! _The front door shut. "HEY! You guys want to see it?!" Emmett called from downstairs.

We both jumped up and ran downstairs. Emmett was holding the little black ring box in his hand and Bella snatched it. She opened the box and I looked at the ring over her shoulder.

"Oh, Emmett, it's perfect. I promise you, Rosalie will love it," Bella said to him.

It really was a perfect ring, though I didn't know what exactly Rose's tastes were. I can't imagine how my brother had picked so well, but I guess if he was good enough to pick Rosalie for the love of his life, he could easily pick out the perfect ring for her.

"Great choice, Emmett, and I don't just mean about the ring," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze, one that in guy-code meant 'you've done well, I'm proud' and I knew he understood.

**EMMETT'S POV**

"When did you buy this ring?" Bella asked.

"I ordered it back a week and a half ago. I would have ordered it sooner, but I wanted her and Edward to meet first so when he called, I knew I had to go out and get the ring, though it did take me a little while to find the time that I could go shop for it without anyone's suspicion."

**(Flashback)**

"_Tiffany is the best place to buy a ring for her," mother had told me, so here I was, standing in front of Tiffany&Co Store, walking through the front door way, heading to that incredible jewelry display._

_I looked to my left and my right at all the watches, bracelets, necklaces, and rings around me. I was looking in one case at the watches when something caught my eye._

"_Ooo shiney!" I whispered to myself in excitement._

_Turning to find the lustrous item that had cast such a glimmer into my eye, I saw the display case I'd originally come here to see._

_The diamond rings all lay out in a glass box, nearly blinding me with their beautiful shine. None of them, though, could compare to my Rosalie. Not one of them shone with the same light that Rose brought into my life._

_I examined the case, looking at each and every ring and making note to myself of the ones I did like, but more importantly, the ones that Rose would like. After much deliberation, spending nearly two hours staring at the rings, shooing away the people who came and distracted me, wanting to help me with something that I knew I had to do myself, I had two rings that I needed to decide from._

"_Sir?" I asked the ONLY man behind the counter, trying to pull his attention from the clock that he'd been watching intently since I'd arrived._

"_How may I help you?" he asked, sauntering over to where I stood. Great, the only man in this store and he's flaming._

"_I'd like to look at those two rings," I said, not looking up at him as I pointed to the two I wanted to have a better look at._

_He pulled them from the case and placed a velvet cloth down on the counter before laying the rings out. "You have a fantastic eye for diamonds Mister…um…"_

"_Cullen."_

"_Mister Cullen. These are some of the finest cut diamonds we carry."_

_I examined each closely, one a pink, square cut diamond surrounded by smaller circular ones, the other a heart shaped, clear diamond with two smaller, circular diamonds on either side. It wasn't long before I knew exactly which diamond would be perfect for Rosalie._

"_I'd like to purchase this one," I finally told the man._

"_Ah, yes. It's quite a beauty. If you'd like, you can also by the wedding bands, though if you're not—"_

"_I'd like to buy the wedding bands that match. I'm positive she'll say yes, and so I don't want to miss the chance to buy the matching bands," I told him._

"_Very well," he replied before placing the other ring back in the case and then pulled out a box from another case. "There are three different bands that will match with that ring. One plain band, one that has circular diamonds going all the way around, and one that has circular and square diamonds going all the way around," he explained, holding each up._

_I marveled at the sparkle each gave off as the shone in the light. I knew exactly which one I wanted, so I asked for the second one._

"_I'd chose exactly the same," he told me._

_I told him her ring size, only having known it because she and Alice had discussed this when Jasper had proposed to the little pixie. The man told me I could pick the ring up next Wednesday. I handed him my credit card to pay for the ring and then was soon on my way, bouncing up and down with excitement from the store and back home to my beautiful soon-to-be fiancé._

**(End Flashback)**

"You sure she'll like it Bella?" I asked.

"Positive."

"Have you thought about your exact words of how you'll ask her?" Edward asked me as he handed the box back to me, probably having gotten it from Bella while I remembered the work behind this ring.

"Since the day I first laid eyes on her," I replied, a goofy grin on my face as I remembered first seeing her, hearing her beautiful voice and laugh, feeling that incredible shock that I'd thought only existed in movies and books. Oh god, did I remember.

**BELLA'S POV**

I'd always known Emmett and Rosalie would end up together. They were the epitome of romance novel couples, about the same as Alice and Jasper were, and so I wasn't as surprised this morning to hear that Emmett was going to propose as one would think. Sure, I was caught off guard at hearing it, but I wasn't surprised it was going to happen.

And now, hearing Emmett, I knew that they would have a perfect life together, the one that everyone wishes they could have. Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, Angela and Ben, they were all going to have those perfect lives together. I didn't want to admit it, but already I was wondering if Edward and I could ever have something like that. Something in me wanted to scream that I was crazy, that Edward and I couldn't, but I just knew deep down he wasn't going to be just any guy for me…and that even if we were going to be the perfect couple for the rest of our lives, well, we were going to be the closest to it that any one couple could come. And, if that was all I could have with him, I'd gladly take it without a second thought.

"So, did you already eat Emmett?" I asked, trying to shift my thoughts back to the two guys in front of me.

"Yup. I stopped at the pizza place on my way back from my last client. Mike says 'hey' by the way," Emmett told me, snickering at the last part.

"Okay. Well, Edward and I have yet to eat so if you're still hungry I can whip something up for you two," I told him as Edward entwined his fingers in mine. I blushed when Emmett laughed.

"Yeah, alright Bella. Whenever you cook something, I'll eat it. Like you honestly need to ask. So, what have you two been doing that you haven't eaten yet?" Emmett wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter you giant bear. We fell asleep," I told him, remembering that it was sometime after 9 PM at the moment.

"Sure," Emmett snorted. "Likely story."

I just pulled Edward behind me, into the kitchen, and began making some Egg Hash. It was a simple dish, really. All it took was throwing some shredded potato, egg, meat, cheese, and peppers into a frying pan and then throwing some salt and pepper on top. Flipping it was the hardest part, although not hard enough to give me reason not to find it a quick, simple dish.

Once it was finished, I dumped it out onto a large plate, used the plastic spatula to cut three slices out, and set out smaller plates for us to use. Then, I grabbed some of the already made vegetables I'd bought: the broccoli/carrot/green-bean mix that was coated in cheese, and doled those out onto the plates as well after heating them in the microwave.

"Dinner is served. But, before I sit, would any of you like a drink?" I asked.

"Sit, Bells, I'll get it," Emmett said before going off into the other room.

I took my seat at the dinner table and Emmett soon returned with a bottle of red wine and three of our good wine glasses. I smiled. Emmett was celebrating his soon-to-happen engagement.

He poured each of us a good amount of wine, though gave me less, knowing that I rarely drank a lot, and handed us each a glass.

Taking his seat, he held his glass up. "A toast, to family, friends, and love."

"To good times, life, and laughs," Edward added.

"To living everyday surrounded by those who love you, making chances for the better, and finally, to the happiness we all bestow upon each other and receive from one another."

"Hear, hear," we all said, and carefully clinked our glasses together before taking a sip and digging into our dinner.

And tonight, I could have honestly said I could really toast to all those things, and I wasn't afraid of any of it.


	7. In My Arms

**A/N: I'm really really really really reallly really really really really sorry to everyone for the lack of updates. Long story short... varsity tennis team + Freshman year of high school + homework + babysitting + teenage life very little time to write. I've been working very hard on updating at least everyone of my stories that I get a lot of readers for. This is the last one I needed to update and this is my best number of readers. So, again I'm sorry and I hop this chpater will make up for the entire MONTH i didn't update. Maybe? No? Okay, fine.**

Disclaimer: I didn't come up with any of these characters. THey all belong to Stephenie Meyer. All i have a pizza crust and two (K)ProOpen Racquets sturng at 62SEN Tensions :)

**BELLA'S POV**

Have you ever truly wondered…Honest to God wondered…what exactly vampires did when they were in love? Well, I knew it wasn't like what we humans did when we fell in love, but I knew I had to imagine…to make something up. It was the strangest thing I'd ever wondered about, or at least it was near the top of that list, and for it to be the first thing I questioned when I woke up that morning, well that was just the icing on the cake of ridiculousness.

So, before my eyes even opened, I was thinking of nothing other than vampire love, and when I did finally open my eyes, the headache that was throbbing in my forehead from the light that shown through my window, erased all those thoughts. I always forgot how strange my thoughts were in the morning when I'd had a hang over. But, then again, I was writing a story about vampires in love and this was something I needed to think about, so maybe the thought wasn't as strange as I thought it was to think it, I think.

I carefully got up from my bed, as not to worsen the already painful throbbing, and went to by dark bathroom. I stumbled around in the pitch black room, thankful I'd closed the blinds yesterday, and finally got to the medicine cabinet. I ran my hands over the bottles, searching for that magical Advil that would get rid of this pain, somewhat, only to knock every single bottle into my sink with a loud clatter that had me wincing in a high amount of pain.

"Fuck!" I whisper-yelled. I didn't even know what time it was, but I hoped that if anyone was still asleep, that I hadn't woken them up.

I decided to turn on the lights, thankful for the dimmer that meant I could turn them on so that they were _just_ light enough for me to find what I was searching for. Squinting in the newly acquired visibility, I hunted through the medications that sat in a pile in my sink. When finally I found my Advil, I popped the cap off and dumped three into my palm, knowing that was all I could take for now. I grabbed my water glass off the counter and filled it with water, chugging half before tossing back the three tablets in my hands.

Now, satisfied with my medication, I took a look at my horribly grungy self in the mirror. I looked terrible, as expected. My hair was a rat's nest, my clothes were wrinkled, though I wasn't even wearing any pants. _Hmm, wonder where those went. _My small amount of make up that I'd applied yesterday was now horribly smudged.

I took everything out of the sink that had fallen into the marble hole and set them on the counter. My eyes had adjusted and I could see things very clearly now, even though hardly any light lit the room. Turning the faucet to an ice cold temperature, I grabbed a hand towel and placed it next to me on the counter. I grabbed my cleanser from beside my shower/tub and set that beside the hand towel. Finally, I got cotton balls and toner and set those just behind the faucet of the sink.

I splashed cold water onto my face, effectively waking me up to the point of no return, and then grabbed my cleanser. I scrubbed my face harshly to get rid of as much make up as possible, though it mostly did nothing more than smudge it further while lightening it slightly. Splashing my face once again, I rid the cleanser from my skin and then shut the water off. I dried my face with my hand towel and looked in the mirror to assess any remaining damage. _Could do better._

I grabbed the toner and cotton balls. Every tells me to just get cold cream or make up remover, but I didn't see the point. I rarely wore make up and the toner worked just as well as any make up remover. I'd been doing this since I was a teen, and by using it as a make up remover I was easily killing two birds with one stone.

I rubbed the toner over all the make up stains until they were impossible to see and then went once over the rest of my face before finally deciding I was finished…with that.

My hair looked terrible, and I decided that brushing it out would do nothing, so I just ran my finger through it a few times before throwing it into a mess of a bun.

_Won't get any better right now, _I thought before departing from the bathroom and entering my brightly sunlit bedroom. _Perfect. _I shielded my eyes from the light as best I could while I walked over to my bedroom door. Thankfully, it was shut…Unfortunately, I tripped at the last second over my jeans from last night and banged my already pounding head into the wood.

Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my robe off the hook. I had two, one was my fluffy plush bathrobe, the other was the short silk one that Rose insisted I keep in my room, for those just-in-case occasions that never seemed to happen. When I couldn't find my fluffy bathrobe on the door, I sighed and settle for the silk one. I threw off my grungy t-shirt that I'd slept in and slipped the so-called, barely there robe on. It felt nice, though, I had to admit. It was also nice to be able to remove my shirt without having any pain in my shoulder, although I'd probably piss Edward off by having done so myself.

_Hmmm, Edward._

I walked out of my room and downstairs. I was desperate for some coffee. I was adjusting to the light, once again, but there were spots in front of my eyes as the headache changed to a migraine, despite the Advil I'd taken.

When I got into the kitchen, Rose and Alice were sitting at the table sipping coffee, Jasper at the counter eating a bowl of cereal.

"That's a nice look, there, Bella," Rose teased.

"Yeah, whatever," I grumbled, heading straight for the half filled coffee pot and grabbing up my mug.

"Did we have a just-in-case occasion last night?" Alice asked knowingly.

Of course, she obviously didn't know. "No we did not. We have a hangover and couldn't find our other robe in all the bright sunlight," I replied.

Her face, which had carried a smirk only minutes ago, dropped before she turned to Rose and they both smiled at each other.

"So, nothing happened last night, other than your fluffy robe disappearing…"

I realized that they knew exactly where my robe was, and Alice's knowing smile was not because she thought she knew that I'd gotten some last night.

"You didn't!" I cried out.

"We did," Rose chirped.

The both of them starting laughing evilly and Jasper looked to me with an apologetic smile.

I groaned. "You didn't have to burn it, you know. You could have at least donated to a homeless shelter or something."

"But…What's the…fun in that?" Alice asked between laughing fits.

"You would have found a way to get it back if we did that anyway," Rose added after she and Alice had calmed.

"I'll get my revenge," I said, though they both knew that if I did anything, it really wouldn't be a big deal. I sighed before pouring a cup of coffee for both myself and Edward, who I would be waking up in a few moments. I went into the medicine cabinet we had in the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Advil for him and slipped into the pathetically small pocket in the itsy bitsy silk robe I was wearing with next to nothing underneath.

"I dare you not to change before waking Edward up," Jasper said to me, which honestly surprised me that he'd say such a thing.

I smiled deviously. "That's not a bad idea," I called over my shoulder as I walked out of the room and upstairs.

"Go Bella!" Rose shouted, causing me to wince at the loud out burst. You'd think I'd have been used to that when I had headaches, because after all I'd been living with Emmett for three months now and he was twice as loud as Rose was a moment ago.

Alice, at least I thought it was her, whistled as I stepped up the stairs. By the time I'd reached the tops of the stairs, all was silent except for Emmett's beast-like snoring.

I approached his closed door and knocked with my bare foot, unsure if he was already up and maybe getting dressed or something. There was no response, so I set one of the coffee cups down, opened the door a smidge, picked the coffee cup back up and then pushed my way through the door.

I looked at his alarm clock first that was on his bedside table. It was just after 9:30. Wow, Alice, Rose, and Jasper were getting a later start than usual. They usually leave by 7:30, if not earlier, like at dawn.

I set both coffee cups down on his nightstand and turned his lights on a small amount, keeping them on a dim level, knowing he drank even more than I had the night prior. I sat on the side of the bed, laughing silently at how he was tangled in the sheets and sprawled out on the mattress. His chest was bare and so were his legs, and I couldn't decide whether I'd rather he was wearing boxers at the moment or not. His mouth hung open and his head was sideways, facing toward me. He looked peaceful, though he did snore softly.

I couldn't help but giggle, he was just too cute.

I decided to wake him the same way as he had with me yesterday. I leaned over so that my face was inches from his, then leaned just slightly forward, my lips brushing against the skin of his forehead, a few strands of hair hanging over and into his eyes, and then a gave his skin a quick chaste kiss before pulling back.

He stirred slightly, and I waited a minute for him to awaken, but he settled back into sleep with a serene smile on his luscious lips. So, he wasn't a light sleeper in the mornings like I was. Sure, maybe he was in a deeper sleep than normal because of the alcohol, but still, he wasn't a light sleeper at all, I could tell.

I kissed him again, this time fully on his lips. I don't know why I'd done it, I didn't think about it, but I did, and before I could pull back, Edward's arms wrapped around me, holding me in place. I smiled against his lips, and before I knew it, he pulled me on top of him.

"Edward," I said with a giggle against his lips.

"Yes Bella?" he asked, finally opening his eyes and looking at me drowsily.

I smacked his bare chest playfully. "What do you think you're doing, mister?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he countered with a raised eyebrow.

"_I _was trying to wake you up, but you didn't wake up when I kissed you on the forehead like you did to me yesterday, so I resorted to plan B. Look where _that's_ gotten me," I said, looking down at his very muscular chest that I was pressed up against, his arms still wrapped tightly around me, holding me in place.

"Yes, look where that's gotten you indeed," he replied with a smirk, looking in the same place.

"Now, may I ask why it is I was pulled on top of you in your bed?" I asked, not really realizing where we were until I said this. I blushed as the realization hit me. _This may be fun, but it's still a little…what's the word…I don't know if embarrassing is quite right, but I don't know what other word I could use to describe it._

"You are on top of me because I felt like pulling you on top of me. Need I have any reason for doing so?" he asked me.

"Dunno. Do you?" I countered.

He chuckled, his chest vibrating beneath me, which caused me to giggle. _Jeez! What's with all the giggling?_

"No, my dear, I do not need a reason other than there was a beautiful woman sitting on the edge of my bed, kissing me. That is the only reason I need to take said action," he replied before giving me a peck on the lips.

"Hey, I have another question for you," I said.

"And that would be?"

"How come you're not as hung over as I was when I woke up about an hour ago?"

"I've had a lot of hangovers," he answered. "I've been to too many wild parties in my days."

I laughed. "Okay. So, I think it's time you let me go so you can get out of bed."

His crooked grin practically had me drooling as he responded. "Who says I want to let you go or get out of bed?"

"Nobody said you wanted to, but you and I have a few errands to run today, if I do recall correctly," I said, looking down at his beautifully toned chest as I drew a random pattern into his skin with my finger.

"You're right, we do," he sighed sadly. I wondered if he actually enjoyed sitting here in bed with me.

_Okay, don't go there Bella._

I squirmed on top of him as I tried to get loose from his grasp, but I stopped at his intake of breath. He grabbed onto my waist tighter and held me from my wiggling. "Please, don't do that," he said.

I didn't quite understand at first, but quickly understood when I felt him against my leg. I blushed a deep crimson and looked off to the side of the room. "I, um, oops. Sorry," I choked out in my embarrassment.

He just chuckled. "It's alright Bella," he said before he leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Um, what, may I ask, are you wearing?"

I giggled nervously. "Rose and Alice took advantage of my intoxicated state last night and burned my nice plush bath robe and so this is my only other robe. I was still a little out of it before I got my coffee and couldn't manage to honestly dress myself so I just threw this on."

I could have sworn he muttered something like, "Must remember to thank them."

I decided to have some more fun with him before I got up to go to my room and get ready. "What are _you _wearing?"

"You may not want an answer to that," he said with a smirk.

"Hm, I think I do," I answered, kissing his lips in the same manner as I had to wake him up. His grasp on me once again tightened and he responded to the kiss immediately.

When we finally broke apart, we were both out of breath. I wondered how even a closed-mouth kiss could make me so breathless.

"You know, I could get used to this sort of wake up call," he said.

"I wouldn't mind waking you up like this every morning. It certainly has its perks," I replied.

"You sure we can't just stay like this all morning?" he asked, almost pleadingly.

"I'm sure you're enjoying this," I said before I looked down to where my chest met his. "Actually, I know you're enjoying this." I could still feel him pressing into my leg, which I was pretty sure was what was giving me the confidence to say or do any of the things that I was. "But, we need to get moving. Besides, I don't think Emmett would like finding us in your bed, in these states of dress."

He chuckled before playfully tapping my butt and releasing his strong grip on my waist. "Alrighty then, get your tush off me and into your room to get ready. I'll help you with your shirt after I'm dressed."

"Okey dokey Smokey," I grabbed my coffee off the nightstand after I got up off of him. "Oh, and there's a coffee for you right here and, if you need it, some Advil too."

He smiled up at me adoringly. "Thanks Bella, you're too kind."

"Anytime," I said before I turned and walked out the door, and down the hallway to my bedroom, passing a very confused, grumbling Emmett on my way.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I was glad I pretended I wasn't awake after she first kissed me on the forehead. Sure, it was a bit devious, but the result was far better than any man could ask for in that moment. When she began to kiss me on the lips, I pulled her to me and then on top of me, her feather-light body falling onto my chest.

When I opened my eyes, I was met by the incredible sight of Bella in nothing more than a very short blue silk robe. That image was enough to get any man going. It was quite enjoyable having her in my bed with me, though I knew there were so many more things that would have been nicer when it came to her and me in my bed than just kissing and flirting. I had to admit that when she started to squirm, I couldn't completely control myself, and when she realized what had happened, her face was in flames.

I really didn't want to get up, but Bella and I both knew we had to. Still, the feeling of her body lying on top of mine, molding to mine, as her soft breasts pressed against my bare chest through her silk robe was never going to be one I'd forget. I knew I needed a cold shower this morning, so as soon as Bella left the room, I grabbed my boxers off the floor, slipped them on, downed my coffee, took two Advil for the slight headache I had, and then finally hopped into the bathroom for said shower.

I showered as quickly as possible, trying, unsuccessfully, to think about anything but Bella this morning. When I was done, I got myself ready, throwing on khaki shorts, Nike sneakers, and a gray t-shirt. My hair was a hopeless mess that wasn't even worth fixing, so today, I didn't even try. I shaved as quickly as I could, thank god for electrically powered shavers, and brushed my teeth. When I was finally ready, I grabbed my BlackBerry and headed to Bella's bedroom.

I knocked on the door.

"Be done in a sec!" she called out.

I heard heavy footsteps as Emmett approached. "Did you see Bella this morning? Man!"

"I did," I said, turning to face him with a grin on my face.

He looked at me for a second. "Oh my god! You guys didn't, you know, did you?"

I laughed. "No, Em, I didn't do anything with Bella. She just came in and woke me up this morning, returning the favor, since I had woken her up yesterday morning."

"Sure," he muttered questioningly. "You know I don't care if you two do anything, right?"

"No, I didn't, but it's great to have your approval," I replied quizzically, not quite sure what he was getting at.

He put on the jacket of his sweat suit; he was obviously on his way out to work…while Bella and I spent our day doing things to help him with his proposal.

"Look, I know you really like her, and I know she really likes you. That much, I get. But, Edward, I swear if you _ever_ do anything to hurt her, you'll just be another asshole who gets his ass kicked by yours truly," he said, flexing his muscles as a reminder that I probably didn't want to mess with him.

"I gotcha," I answered. I could tell he was serious.

"Just wanted to make sure we were clear. You may be my baby brother by blood, but Squirt is my baby sister no matter what, and she's been through hell."

"I know, she told me."

He seemed surprised at that. "Seriously? She told you? When?"

"At the beach."

"Well, I'll be damned. She wouldn't even tell me until just after we decided to all go searching for a house together. I only knew prior because of Rose. She trusts you, bro," Emmett said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Don't break that trust."

And then, he turned and left. Seconds later, the front door opened and shut and I heard the Jeep depart from the house. I leaned against Bella's door and smiled. She really did trust me, even more than Emmett. And, she liked me. I mean, I knew she did, but it's just different when your brother tells you that. Brothers don't lie to each other about that type of stuff, or at least Emmett and I never have. I just wondered if she liked me as much as I already liked her.

_I like Bella way too much for my own good. I met her, what? Five days ago? How could I possibly like her as much as I already do? Is it even healthy?_

I knew that it didn't matter how long I knew her for. Mom and Dad knew they were meant to be together only seconds after they met each other, and even now, after all these years, nearly 30 years, of marriage, they're still in what most people call the 'honeymoon stage'. But was that how I felt about—

My thoughts were cut off as the door that had been my support for the past five or so minutes opened and I fell backwards. Bella must have moved out of the way just in time that I didn't knock her over. I fell on my butt and glared jokingly up at a laughing Bella.

"Think that's funny, eh?" I asked before I pulled her down in my lap. I liked how I was able to just be completely comfortable and playful with her. I'd never known this before.

She just nodded. I flipped us so that she was lying on her back and I was hovering above her. I straddled her and began tickling her sides, one hand holding both of her arms together at her wrists. Now she was gasping for air, laughing and thrashing. I chuckled as I continued to tickle her.

"Please!" she begged breathlessly.

"Please what?" I asked.

"Stop! Agh!"

"Never."

"Mercy! Mercy!"

I finally stopped my onslaught, kissed her forehead, released her arms, and then stood up, still chuckling. "You're just too much fun, Bella."

"Yup." She hopped up. Her hair was hanging down, soaking wet, and all I could see was that same tiny blue silk robe.

I watched as she went over to her dresser and bent over at the hips, keeping her legs straight and her behind up in the air, to get some clothing out of them bottom drawer. I know I shouldn't have looked, but I did. I was thankful to know I wasn't seeing anything I shouldn't have, as she was wearing denim short-shorts that were somehow hidden by the tiny robe.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked, just before standing up.

"Quite a nice one," I replied.

She laughed before handing me a simple green halter top. She turned her back to me and then untied the blue belt that held the robe closed. The silk slid down her pale skin to the floor and her bare back was revealed to me. She was wearing nothing more than a bra to cover her chest at the moment, but all I could see was her back anyway.

She raised her right arm over her head and I slipped the shirt onto that arm first, then over her head. The shirt was tight but it had a stretchy material so getting her left arm and shoulder through wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

She moved the shirt around until it was where she wanted it to be.

"Okay, now you just need to tie the top up and I'll be set." She handed me the straps that I needed to tie together and then pulled her hair up off her neck with her right hand. I did as she asked, before she turned around. She pulled on her bra, which was strapless, adjusting her cleavage. As if it wasn't already hard enough having to help her put her shirt on (no pun intended).

"Ready?" I asked.

She slipped on a pair of shoes that were just to the side of her dresser. They were a pair of Puma sneakers_. Good, she wears sensible shoes._

"All set," she said, grabbing her purse and walking out of the room. I followed behind her, watching as her hips naturally swayed in a seductive motion.

By the time we were at the front door, the rain was steadily pouring down in buckets, a sudden summer rush.

"Jeez, you'd think someone pulled the plug out from a huge cloud up there," Bella muttered, causing me to laugh.

"We'll take my car then," I told her.

"That's probably the better idea. The back of my truck has got to be soaked by now."

She grabbed a hooded sweatshirt off a hook on the wall, put it on, and zipped up the front, shoving her hands into the pockets as a shiver ran down her spine.

I flipped up the hood over her head and fought the urge to cover her body in to warm her up. She turned to look at me and smiled before grabbing another hoodie and tossing it my way. I put it on, but it was a couple sizes too big.

"Emmett's?" I asked.

She nodded before she let out a few laughs. "You look like you're drowning in the thing."

I grinned. "You going to come in here and save me?"

"Sorry, Bub, but you're on your own there."

She grabbed my keys off the table in the entry way before I even realized I'd left them there the other day and then ran out into the rain to the car.

"Hey!" I called after her as I threw my own hood up and ran after her. The hood covered my eyes in the time it took to get to my car and all I could see was the ground where my feet were. When I pushed back the hood, Bella was leaning against the passenger side car door. "What was that for?" I asked.

"I had my reasons," she replied with an innocent shrug.

"Keys." I held out my hand expectantly.

A mischievous smile crept across her face. She leaned forward and her lips to mine. She put her hands into my back pockets, somehow getting to them beneath that entirely too big sweatshirt. Then, without any notice, pulled back completely and got into the passenger side of the car. I reached into my back pockets and surely enough, my keys were in the left one.

I got into the driver's side and sat on the leather seat, water from my now soaked sweatshirt coating the material. The keys slid into the ignition as the car started and the low hum of the engine emanated from my Volvo.

I had been to the mall only two days ago with Alice and Rosalie, something I would never do again might I add, so I already knew my way there. I pulled out of the driveway and smiled as a glance out of the corner of my eye told me Bella was watching me.

She reached out and turned on the CD player in the car to be immediately greeted by Claire De Lune.

"Debussy?" she asked in surprise.

"You know it?" The surprise was just as audible in my own voice.

"Mom used to play it around the house when I was with her."

"Tell me about your parents, Bella," I said. I had a feeling I'd learn a lot more about her from just knowing about her parents, her childhood.

"My parents grew up in Phoenix, met there in high school, and married not many days after graduating. They were foolish and young, but they were in love…at the time at least. Almost immediately, Renee, my mom, was pregnant with me. The both of them moved into a bigger apartment to accommodate a bigger family. The marriage only lasted until I was three years old. After that, Mom just fell out of love. Charlie, my dad, still loves her to this day. So, Mom decided she wanted to see the world, try new things, and meet different people.

"She stayed in Phoenix for a while though, not wanting to leave me behind, before finally she began journeying. She left the country only twice all throughout the years, but she lived all over the US. New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, and even DC. I would spend a few weeks a year with her and if she was available, I'd also spend half of my summer vacation with her. She was always a big city girl, but after so many years in Phoenix, I guess it was just too small a city.

"She always worked different jobs, having a new one every two or three months because she was sick of the last. How she was able to pay rent was beyond me, though usually she had a friend or two to crash with in those cities. Finally, while in Atlanta, she met a guy named Phil, who she fell in love with. I was fifteen at that time. Half a year later and they were getting married. They've been together since, living in Jacksonville, Florida. She loves it there.

"Charlie hasn't ever left Phoenix without a good reason. He's chief of police and so he's kept busy. He's never even started dating, even after twenty years. Like I said, he's still in love with Renee. He took care of me all my life and I don't think I ever could have asked for a better father than Charlie. He worked a lot so we didn't see much of each other, but when he was off work we always hung out with the—"

She stopped short and I turned to see why. I was pretty sure I already knew why.

"So, what did Emmett put on the list?" I asked, trying to steer this conversation away from what it had been.

The smile she gave me was small. "Thanks, but I'll finish. We always hung out with the Blacks. Dad usually went fishing while I hung back with Jake. Anyway, that's all in the past now, and I'm as far away from the both of them as is possible."

I laughed. "My parents just lost their baby boy," I said. "I lived with them all through college and medical school so they still had at least one kid with them up until Saturday."

She laughed at that. "Jeez. You and Emmett coming from the same two people. Who would have thought?"

"Certainly neither myself nor my parents."

"Tell me about you're—" She stopped when my BlackBerry pinged. Yes, it pinged. Not buzzed, not rang, but pinged.

I pulled it from the clip on my belt and pressed talk.

"Hey," I said.

"_Good morning, Edward,"_ my mother's voice said over the line.

"I meant to call you earlier," I said, squinting through the windshield, blurred by the water pounding down upon it.

"_Looks like I've got good timing then," _Mom replied with a laugh.

"You always do," I responded.

"_I suppose that's true."_

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of speaking with you?" I looked over to Bella whose eyes glowed with curiosity, making me chuckle.

"_Emmett left a very…bizarre message last night. Care to explain?"_

"Emmett was a little bit tipsy last night. But, there is a good reason for him to call. He's going to propose to Rosalie Hale tomorrow night and he wanted you and Dad to fly in on Saturday."

"_Oh my! My baby's all grown up. Carlisle! Get down here, now!" _I could here my father grumbling on the other end of the line. _"I don't care how tired you are from last night, Edward's on the phone!"_

"Oh, and Mom, could you…"

**BELLA'S POV**

"Oh, and Mom, could you go into the safety deposit box and get the necklace?" I heard his mother's voice on the other line, but I couldn't make out a word of what she was saying. I didn't know that Emmett wanted to give Rose a necklace. He never told me about that. She already wore one that he gave her back when they first started dated. She never took it off. It was a white gold, heart-shaped locket engraved with a cursive E and a diamond placed on the inside.

"Yes, I did," Edward answered to whatever question she asked with a goofy smile on his face. "You'll see soon enough…Love you too, Mom, Dad. See you both on Saturday…Oh, send me your flight information so I can pick you both up at the airport…It's no trouble at all, believe me. There are days where you'd much rather be out of the house, and I have a feeling that I don't want to be around Emmett and Rosalie at all after the proposal." He laughed. "Yes, yes. Alright. Good bye guys."

He hung up the BlackBerry and put it back into the holder that was attached to his belt.

"They're coming?" I asked as we pulled into the parking lot.

"They wouldn't miss _this_ for the world."

I could my stomach tying up in knots already. I really, really, _really_ liked Edward. We would have hardly known each other for a week by the time I would be meeting his parents. _Yikes!_

He parked in a vacant spot not too far from the entrance. The both of us got out and walked side by side into the building.

"So, how do we want to do this?" I asked.

"We could do everything together, or we could split up the list and be in and out in half the time, leaving the rest of the day for just us," he said. I couldn't tell which side he was leaning toward, but I was leaning toward the 'get in, get the hell out, and have the rest of the day to the two of us' angle.

"Split the list," I said, pulling it out my pocket and ripping it into two even parts.

- - - -

I dialed Edward's cell phone number as I sat on a bench at the entrance/exit of the mall. I had finished about half an hour ago and was sitting her patiently reading a book I grabbed, but was just curious as to how much longer I'd be waiting.

"_Hello Bella," _his glorious voice greeted me. The sound of my name rolling off his tongue was too beautiful for my ears to handle.

"Hey Edward. Just curious how much longer you'll be…" I said, looking out the glass doors into the parking lot where it was still, unsurprisingly, raining. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and lips pressing against my cheek.

"_How long do you think I'll be?" _he asked over the phone, his lips vibrating against my skin causing a tingling sensation.

I hung up my phone and smiled at him. "I think you won't be much longer."

"You hung up on me," he said in such an overly dramatic manner that I nearly fell off the bench we were on.

"I did, now let's get all this stuff out to your car and get the hell out of here. I'm starving," I replied, patting my grumbling stomach for added effect.

He chuckled. "Alright, honey. Let's get you home and we'll whip up some lunch."

I smiled again. _He called me honey, _I thought. Picking up all of our bags, we made our way out to the car. It was after two o'clock in the afternoon and I was definitely near passing out from lack of food. We loaded the bags into Edward's trunk and rushed into the car to get out of the rain.

"All set?" he asked me.

"Yup," I answered.

He pulled out of the parking lot and was speeding off to get back home. And when I said speeding, I meant he belonged on a race car track.

"Shit, you're worse than the rest of them."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Have you checked the speed limit lately?"

He chuckled. "I have a need for speed. Get used to it."

I turned the radio on in the car and put it on one of the top 100 song stations. With his driving, it hardly took us twenty minutes to get home. Loading the bags out of the car went as quickly as we could manage. Edward and I were totally soaked by the time we got back inside.

I laughed at Edward when I saw him. The sweatshirt was hanging even more than before. "You're drowning again."

"You don't look all that much better," he answered with that dazzling smile. He started pulling the sweatshirt off, but it didn't want to budge. "Help?"

"Kneel down," I commanded. He obliged. I bent over and tugged at the giant gray blob. It wasn't working much so I grabbed the bottom hem and inched it up. Edward lifted his arms and I swear he looked like the most ridiculous, rain soaked, sweatshirt covered idiot I'd ever seen. I slid it upward but it still wasn't coming off his head. "It's stuck on your big head," I told him as I laughed.

He managed to remove his arms from the too big sleeves and started to pull it up above his head. Emmett had tightened the strings and ultimately made it a hard fit for anyone who's head was a centimeter larger than his. It finally slid off and Edward just looked like a really sexy soaking wet guy.

He moved toward me and pulled me toward him, unzipping my dripping wet sweatshirt, his hand gliding down the front of my body tantalizingly while the other rested on the small of back. When the sweatshirt finally slid off, the both of us stood there, looking into each other's eyes as had seemed to become our habit.

His emerald eyes were shining and seemingly darker than the last time I'd seen them. He bent down and kissed my lips softly before removing my halter top which he had helped to put on this morning.

"There you go," he said huskily and managed to turn and walk upstairs toward his room. I followed him in a slightly confused state and entered my room in order to change…everything.

I pulled a new set of undergarments, a pair of mesh shorts, and a tank top from my drawers. I threw off the rest of my clothes and quickly pulled on the underwear and shorts. I once again started with my bra and got it up over my breasts and one strap on my shoulder.

"Allow me," Edward's said from behind me. His cool hands rested on waist before one slid the other strap up into place. He took the tank top from off the bed directly behind him and helped me to slip it on, his hands running along my sides in the process. I shivered with his touch. He placed a quick kiss on the back of my neck before he fell backward onto my bed. I left myself fall onto it directly beside him.

I didn't know how long we lay there just staring up at the ceiling, listening to the rain's musical _ping_s and _pang_s as drops landed on various surfaces outside. All I know is that I woke up pressed into Edward's side with one of his arms wrapped around me and one of mine draped across his rhythmically moving chest. I snuggled further into his side, quite comfortable where I was, and his hold on me tightened.

_If I lay here,  
If I just lay here,  
__Would you lie with me and just forget the world?  
__Forget what we're told?  
__Before we get too old  
__Show me a part of us, bursting into life._

My cell phone rang and I groaned, knowing I had to get up from Edward's side to answer it.

"Leave it," his drowsy voice told me.

"Gladly," I answered, closing my eyes and ignoring the music.

I fell back asleep again not much later, but it wasn't as peaceful as it had been.

"_Not worth it, Bella…" his voice filled my ears as a ghost of his face appeared in the small dark room around me._

"_Yes I am!" I disagreed. The room fell smaller._

"_Not good enough, Bella…"_

"_Like you have any right to say so?" I snapped back. I was trapped in here, no escape._

"_You weren't enough for me… Why would you be enough for anyone else?"_

"_No, stop it," I ordered quietly, feeling the defeat overwhelm me and losing any strength I'd had moments ago._

"_Give up, Bella. No one could ever feel that way about you…"_

"_Shut up, just shut up," I asked of him. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Why wouldn't he stop?_

"_You're not good enough for anybody. I didn't love you…"_

"_Please," I whimpered, falling to me knees and covering my face with my hands. "Just shut up," I begged through my tears._

"_And neither could he."_

**EDWARD'S POV**

I was woken by Bella's movement. She was tossing and turning in my grasp and a frown was on her face.

"Yes I am!" she cried in her sleep. "Like you have any right to say so?... No, stop it… Shut up, just shut up… Please, just shut up…" she was begging, tears beginning to fall from her closed eyes.

"Bella?" I asked, pulling her into my arms as I sat up in the bed. She shot up straight pulling in a deep fast breath as if she hadn't been breathing for the past minutes. Her breathing was fast and heavy. "Bella, it was just a bad dream."

"Bad dream," she repeated with a small chuckle that was somewhat hysterical. She wiped at her eyes. "One hell of a bad dream, I'll tell you that."

"I can tell," I replied softly. She relaxed into my arms which were still wrapped around her. I moved so that I was leaning against the pillows and lay back, pulling Bella to lay on top of me.

"I'm alright," she insisted.

"Doesn't matter," I answered with a yawn. "I want to fall asleep with you laying right here in my arms."

And this wouldn't be the last time that I'd want that.


	8. Souls As One

**a/n: okay here's the next chapter. I really wanted to get this one up. Please review and let me know what you think. This is my first true attempt at a lemon, although, in this one, it really wasn't too dirty...so please, if it sucked, jsut let me know. Any way, this chapter does get a little confusing because there's a lot of different flashbacks and POVs. There's pictures on my profile. Hope you love this :) Also...do just take into account i'm a 14 year old girl who knows most of this stuff because I read a lot of adult romance novels and M rated fanfics... Jordi B.**

**EMMETT'S POV**

I sat up in my bedroom, staring at the ring in the velvet box. The nerves were beginning to get a hold of me and I was damn close to cold feet. I was itching to run downstairs and clean up everything Bella and Edward had set up for tonight so that it would be perfect, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I loved Rosalie Hale with everything that was…well…me.

If she denied me my request, then all that mattered was that I had given her the choice. I knew she loved me, probably as much as I did her. If she wasn't ready, then I'd wait for an eternity. If she just wanted everything to remain as it was now, I'd gladly resent any change. But if she wanted this? I'd place the ring on her finger in less than a second and kiss her senseless.

I heard her car pull into the driveway. It was now or never.

**5…**

**4…**

**3…**

**2…**

_**Flashback**_(a/n: this is a little different. The flashback will go back in time, but it'll change POVs a couple of times)

_I woke up to an empty bed. Rosalie was already up and gone. We had been sleeping in her bedroom all week and so I once again found it odd to be waking up in her bed without her snuggling up to me. I sighed as I heaved myself out of bed, immediately feeling every muscle in my body tense as I realized it was Friday._

_Friday…the day that everything would change for the both of us. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse. That was yet to be decided – decided by Rosalie._

_I made my way across to my bedroom and scurried to get ready for work. I filled my day with appointments so that I could keep my mind off of tonight. I would be done at 4:30, get home by 5, shower, get dressed, and put the finishing touches on the house for this evening._

_I looked in my armoire at all of the bags and other items that Bella and Edward had purchased yesterday for this evening. Decorations, lights, candles, flowers, and so many other things that I couldn't even begin to explain at the moment._

_I didn't bother showering this morning. I'd do it when I got home. I was dressed in my usual attire: t-shirt, warm up suit, and sneakers. I made my way downstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee which Bella offered to me._

"_Relax," she said. I must have looked as frazzled and nervous as I felt._

"_What time is it?" I asked._

"_Nine thirty. You'll be fine. Get your muscular ass over to the gym and let Edward and I work the magic we promised we would."_

"_Alright," I said. I probably didn't appear convinced._

"_She'll say yes, Em. There's no doubt in my mind she'll say yes."_

_I nodded. She kissed me on the cheek and hugged me tightly. "I love you, Bells. I don't know what I'd do without you," I told her honestly._

"_You'd be getting your ass kicked over to Timbuktu," she answered, making me chuckled._

"_That's probably about right. Are they all gone?" I asked._

"_Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper all left a little over two hours ago. Edward's outside with the truck getting the piano inside. It's a good thing we've got a big front doorway or I swear he'd be freaking out over that thing," she told me._

_I laughed again. She clearly didn't know Edward as well as I did. "If Edward had to choose between saving a baby and his piano, he'd choose the piano."_

"_Remind me never to let him touch my child," she said._

"_Remind me never to touch his piano," I replied._

_She kicked me in the behind. "Get a move on, Em. You need to get to work."_

"_Thank you Bells!" I called over my shoulder as I made my way out the door and sprinted to my Jeep. As I was pulling out, I caught a glimpse of Edward's agonized expression as the movers very carelessly moved his piano into the house._

_**EDWARD'S POV**_

"_Careful with that!" I shouted at the men as the moved my piano through the doors. You'd think they didn't care! I took a deep breath. Alright, so they didn't care and that was the truth, but it there was one scratch on my baby I would have their heads…_

_Arms wrapped around my waist from behind me and a dainty head lay to rest on my back. I momentarily forgot about my instrumental woes._

"_How are you this morning?" I asked, turning around in her arms so that her face rest on my chest and I could see her beautiful brown hair glistening with drops from the light drizzle._

"_Better than last night, that's for sure," she muttered into my shirt. I chuckled, the vibration causing her head to jerk upward. Her smile was brilliant this morning. It had killed me to see her that way last night. I was sure that today would keep her mind busy enough that it wouldn't matter, but I wasn't so sure about tonight. "I hear you're a freak about your piano," she said teasingly._

"_Suppose I am," I answered in the same playful tone, one eyebrow raised._

"_Then I'll just have to keep you distracted so you don't grow fangs, bite those men, and suck them dry of all their blood because they aren't being perfect gentle when dealing with your daughter…I mean piano," she replied with that adorable laugh of hers. I couldn't help but laugh as well._

"_Fine, fine. I'll lighten up. How did Emmett look this morning?"_

"_He looked like he was going to jump out of his sneakers, he was so frazzled. His socks didn't even match."_

"_I wouldn't be surprised if he mismatched them on purpose," I mused._

"_That does sound like an Emmett thing to do, but I think he had too many things on his mind to be thinking about silly little jokes. He was seriously a little out of it this morning."_

"_He's Mr. Look-At-Me all the time until it comes to the serious things. That's when you'll see him backing up into a corner and very unsure of himself. Believe me. This is going to be one of the hardest things for him."_

"_I think it WILL be the hardest thing for him. I mean, in the short time I've known him, the only time he's been unsure of himself is when it comes to Rosalie. This will be the final honest to God time where he won't know EXACTLY what her answer will be."_

"_I know. The wedding? He won't be nervous at all. The birth of their child? He'll be sure of his paternal abilities. But asking the love of his life to marry him? He's shaking in his Nike's."_

_She laughed. "I just wish he'd understand that I'm not lying when I say she'll say yes. She's told Alice and I a hundred times that if Emmett ever asked, she'd undoubtedly say yes."_

"_It only takes one look at the two to know what she'd say."_

_I felt her nodding against my chest and buried my face in her hair. I wondered what people thought with just look at Bella and I? What was I saying? She hadn't even agreed to be my girlfriend yet…_

_**BELLA'S POV**_

_I was comfortable where I was, leaning against Edward's chest. He'd buried his face in my hair and sighed. There was some sort of emotion in that sigh, but I didn't know what. All I knew is that it didn't sound good._

"_What's wrong?" I asked, my words vibrating over his t-shirt._

"_Nothing, honey."_

_I smiled against the cotton. He called me honey again._

_I shivered. The drizzle was starting to grow into a light rain and the wind was blowing just enough to cause a chill on a summer morning._

_Edward chuckled, the smooth sound vibrating against my skull. "Let's get you inside before you end up sick." I nodded my agreement, but didn't make a move to head in the house. I was just too comfortable. Edward moved quickly and suddenly I was swept off my feet and being carried into the house._

"_Edward! What do you think you're doing?! Put me down!"_

_He just laughed as we made our way into the living room. My arms were wrapped securely around his neck as he cradled me, his chest vibrating against my body. While I kept Edward busy, the piano had been successfully moved inside the house and a guy in his mid-thirties wearing an orange t-shirt and baggy, light blue jeans walked over to a smirking Edward and a grumbling me._

"_You're all set Mister and Missus Cullen," the man said._

_I was about to say something when Edward spoke. "Isn't that great __**Missus Cullen**__? They're all done." The idiot was smiling as if it were Christmas. What was that about?_

"_Just sign here and we'll be on our way." The man held out a clip board in front of me and handed me a pen. Edward nodded and I took the pen, signing on the dotted line at the bottom of the paper in a messy scrawl._

_The men ran for their lives, and I understood why. Edward was a little scary when it came to his piano._

_Edward was still holding me after the door shut behind the last scrawny, nineteen or twenty year old boy and I was surprised he wasn't at all tired._

"_You can't put me down now," I told him._

_He kissed me quickly on the cheek before walking with the both of us over to his precious piano. "Why would I want to do that?"_

"_Because I'm not the lightest thing in the world and you're only human."_

"_You're light as a feather, Bella."_

"_If that's what you want to think…"_

_He placed me down on the piano bench and moved over to the side, lifting the lid of piano and placing a bar upward to keep it open. He sat down on the bench then beside me, fixed the music stand, and then lifted the lid covering the keys._

"_What should I play, __**Missus Cullen**__?" he asked._

"_Will you ever give that up?" I asked, kind of liking the sound of that, oddly enough._

"_Nope," was his response before he started into Claire De Lune._

_**Hours Later…**_

_Edward had spent the entire day recording beautiful, romantic piano pieces while I cooked and decorated._

_Emmett would woo Rosalie if I had my way with all these things. It was about four now and I was in the garage while the lamb was in the oven. After it was done, it could stay in there to keep warm, but the temperature would need to be turned down…a lot._

"_Would you like help?" Edward asked._

"_No thanks. You've been working hard all day. Just relax for a few minutes." His hands rested on my hips and held me in place as the chair I stood on wobbled._

_His chuckle filled the garage. "With your balance struggles, that could have led to a horrible accident."_

"_That would but a damper on Emmett and Rose's night," I replied, hanging up the lights as Emmett had requested._

_I hopped down with Edward's help and he looked around. "You're pretty good at this, I've got to admit."_

_I smiled in accomplishment. "I worked in a restaurant back in Phoenix and then for the first two years I was in Seattle. You learn a thing or two when it comes to setting up for an event."_

"_If you can do this with only a day's notice, Bella, then I think my mother is going to love you," he said, kind of out of the blue._

"_What do you mean?" I asked._

"_My mom plus parties equals life," he replied, dead serious._

"_Does she do this for a living?"_

"_She does."_

_I swallowed. "What do you parents do?"_

_**EDWARD'S POV**_

"_Mom does interior designing with party planning on the side. Dad's a doctor," I answered nonchalantly._

_She swallowed again. "That's…wow."_

"_I'm surprised you didn't already know. I thought Emmett would have told you."_

_She blushed. "I don't pay attention to A LOT of the things that Emmett says. Most of the time, it's things you don't want to hear."_

_I laughed again. I was doing that a lot today. "Don't I know it…"_

_We heard the garage door open and Emmett carefully drove his Jeep into one side of the two car garage. He hopped out of the car looking like more of a mess than he had this morning and didn't even manage a hello before disappearing into the house._

_Bella and I walked into the house and made our way toward the kitchen. She bent down to the oven, opened it up, pulled out the lamb, and put it into a warming drawer beneath the main compartment. Adjusting the temperature, she slid another pot into the oven which I saw held two small chocolate cakes for dessert. Next she pulled out yet another pot and filled it with water, putting it on top of the stove and lighting the small burner._

"_So, what would you like this evening?" she asked, leaning over the counter to where I sat on a stool on the opposite side._

"_I don't know. What would you like Missus Cullen?"_

_She groaned. "Can we please quit with that?"_

_I liked the sound of it. Apparently, she did not. "Fine. What would you like to have?"_

_She thought for a moment before going into the freezer and pulling out a small box of…something. A frying pan was taken off a hook that was suspended from the ceiling in the center of the kitchen and placed on the stove. Bella went back to the fridge and pulled out butter, cutting some off with a knife and dropping the small amount into the pan before putting the rest away. The burner beneath it clicked a few times before lighting and the butter melted quickly as she ripped open the cardboard package that held our dinner. The small whitish lumps were dropped into the pan._

_Minutes later, a plate was placed in front of me with green beans and the small whites things on them. Bella had wrapped them in bacon and stuck a toothpick through them._

_She picked one up and held it up to my mouth. I leaned forward and took a small bite. I couldn't believe my taste buds._

"_Damn Bella. That's delicious. What is it?" I asked after swallowing._

"_Scallops," she responded, forking a green bean and putting it into her mouth. She still held up the scallop for me and I gladly took the rest of it into my mouth._

"_You've proven too be far too good for me," I said. "I don't know how much more delicious food I can handle." I picked up a scallop and fed it to her the same as she had to me, she took a bite with a satisfied smile on her face. "Come over here," I told her. She moved around the counter and went to take a seat on the stool next to me._

_I grabbed her before she could and pulled her onto my lap. She laughed. "Edward, what are you doing?"_

"_I'm sitting you on my lap. What does it look like I'm doing?" I replied._

"_Smartass," she retorted adoringly._

"_Eat," I commanded, holding up the rest of her uneaten scallop to her mouth. She did and then forked a few green beans, moving them toward my mouth. "If you cooked like this for me when I was a kid, I would have gladly eaten my vegetables without a fuss."_

_Another laugh escaped her luscious lips. "If I had cooked like this when we were kids, I would have gladly eaten anything."_

"_Have either of you guys seen my bow tie?" a frenzied Emmett asked from the doorway._

_Bella laughed. "It's hanging out of your jacket pocket Em."_

_He looked down and let out a relieved chuckle. "Thanks." He ran loudly back up the steps._

"_I'm going to go help him," Bella said._

"_I would too, but he's started to scare me," I answered._

"_Yeah, yeah. Just go get yourself ready. Jasper and Alice will be home soon and we've got to get them the heck out of here before Rose gets home."_

"_Ma'am yes ma'am," I answered with a salute as Bella left the room._

_**EMMETT'S POV**_

"_Crap, crap, crap! Where did I put my socks? Come on Emmett, think. Where did you last—"_

"_On the bed, Emmett. They're on your bed."_

"_Thanks Bella," I said, seeing them right where she'd said they'd be._

"_Sit down, Emmett. I'll help you finish getting ready. Your going to run yourself ragged at this rate."_

_I did as she said and she knelt in front of me. She tied my bow tie and slipped my socks onto my feet. I felt like a four year old with my mother helping me get ready for one of her big parties. Bella got to go get my shoes from the closet and slipped them onto my feet over the socks before tying them up and slipping the thing black laces into the inside of the shoes. She pulled off my jacket and unbuttoned a few of my shirt buttons before re-buttoning them correctly. She pulled me up so I was standing again and slipped my belt on. She put my jacket back on me and buttoned it. She reached up to my head, standing on her toes, and fixed up my mess of an excuse for hair._

_Placing a hand on either side of my face, she looked me directly in the eye. "Listen to me Emmett. I need you to relax. You are the cutest, funniest, strongest, most protective, and most loving guy I have known. You've helped me from my living hell and you know my ups and downs, but you've done more than you are aware of when it comes to Rose. You've showed her love and companionship when no other man knew how. You've shown her patience and let her make all the decisions. You've given her everything she'd ever asked for and flown her to the moon and back. You've never wronged her or hurt her in anyway. You've forgiven her mistakes and never once stopped loving her since the moment you saw her. And now, it's her turn to prove she's the same way to you. And I swear on my life that she'll prove she was worth everything you've been for her. You and I both know that she's been through one of the hardest things for a woman to go through, and because of that, she wasn't as easy going in a relationship. But, I promise you, this is the final step in proving to Rose that never once will you ever hurt her. Not physically, not emotionally, not spiritually, not in any way whatsoever. This is the last chance you'll have to take with her, and I guarantee you…It IS a chance worth taking."_

_And then in the blink of an eye, Bella was out the door and down the hall._

_**She's right**__, I thought to myself. __**This is a chance worth taking. This is my final test with Rosalie.**__ I just hoped I wouldn't fail._

_**BELLA'S POV**_

_I left Emmett's room as quickly as I could. I told him everything that I knew was true and nothing less. I went back into the kitchen where Edward was pouring the box of risotto into the boiling water._

"_Thanks," I said, taking over. In twenty minutes this would all be left in Emmett's hands. I prayed he wouldn't grasp this opportunity so hard that he crumbled and crushed it in his bear sized paws._

_Edward watched me as I cooked in mild fascination, almost like I had as I watched him play the piano. He was observing me in my element and I began to squirm under his gaze._

"_So, what are we doing tonight?" I asked._

"_We're going to go see a movie after we take Alice and Jasper to dinner. Then we'll probably all go out for a drink or something."_

"_I know a good bar over in Port Angeles that'll be perfect. We could shoot some pool and just chill out watching the baseball game or something."_

"_I'll go wherever you are," he answered._

_I drifted off into my own thoughts, remembering waking up this morning on my bed, wrapped in Edward's arms. We didn't eat dinner last night, but we were both apparently too tired to care. We slept through to six thirty this morning, at which point we both came down stairs and had a really big breakfast. Alice and Rosalie were surprised by everything we had made. Jasper just dug into the food without a question. I still couldn't get the thought of Edward's arms wrapped around me out of my mind though. It was just too natural. He was protective of me last night, and yet he was bending to my every plea at the same time. He was accommodating me, but getting what he wanted._

_By the time the risotto was done, I turned the burner as low as it would go and put the lid on the pot to keep it warm._

_I set serving plates out on the counter and wrote down quickly everything that Emmett would need to do to get that ready. Then I went over to the table and started setting that up. I put a blood red table cloth over it, set two of the white plates with golden lining out and placed out the best silverware. Two wine glasses and two regular glasses were set out next. I grabbed our gold bucket and put on a small table in the corner behind the table, filling it with ice and then putting the red wine into it with a bottle opener to the side. I placed two red candles on the table and three roses with their stems cut off in between the candle sticks._

_Just as I began to wonder what was holding Emmett up, Alice and Jasper came in through the front door. They ran up to their bedroom and slammed the door shut._

"_Dammit!" I shouted before Edward and I both ran up after them. I knocked on their door. "You two can fuck like bunnies tonight at the hotel! Right now, we're getting our asses out the doors and to Port Angeles!"_

_Alice came to the door and popped her head out as she eased it open. Her blouse was already half opened. "What are you talking about?"_

"_Get changed, the both of you, and let's go. Edward and I will explain in the car. Everything's already packed up."_

_She ducked back into the room and three minutes later she was in a summer dress and Jasper was wearing blue jeans and a polo._

"_Out." I pointed to the steps and they quickly went down and out the door. We followed and went out into Jasper's car. He hadn't taken it and it was a Mercedes Crossover, so it had the most room. Edward and I got into the back seats, the bags in the back, and Jasper and Alice took their respective seats in the front._

_And we drove off, Edward and I explaining everything, Alice bouncing on the edge of her seat, and leaving Emmett to do the rest on his own._

_**EMMETT'S POV**_

_Everything was almost done. The candles were placed perfectly, the rose petals littered the floor all around, the bed was made up, and Rosalie's dress and underwear were lying out. Her favorite shoes just beneath the end of her new dress. She'd be home soon. I shut off all the upstairs lights and ran downstairs. I put the empty box into the hood of my Jeep and touched my pocket where an identical box lay with the ring. The lights and décor were perfectly set so I turned off all the lights in the garage. I went around the house, shutting off every light and turned on the CD player, grabbing the remote and hitting pause before shoving it into my pocket. I closed all the blinds and then ran back up to room. Taking a seat on my bed._

**1…**

"Emmett?" Rosalie called as she opened the door.

My hands were shaking. I had to stay in my bedroom for just a few more seconds. "Be down in a minute. Would you mind taking a look at my Jeep right now? Something's not working right."

"Sure," she called back up the steps. I heard her heals clicking on the floors as I slowly snuck down the steps. She went into the garage. She turned on the lights and didn't even notice anything in the room, immediately going to the Jeep and opening the hood. I plugged in the lights quickly, hit play on the remote, allowing piano music to swell throughout the house, and waited for Rosalie to notice the box. The second I heard her gasp, I turned off the garage lights, the only illumination the strung lights that were strategically hung on the walls. The room glowed red with some white lights thrown in there too.

I knelt down behind Rosalie and opened the ring box. She opened the box in her hand and saw the note, following its words exactly. She gasped again as she saw me kneeling before her holding an open ring box in a tuxedo.

"Emmett," she said breathlessly, disbelievingly.

"Rosalie, love of my life, woman of my world, flower of my garden, you mean everything to me. You and I have known each other for such a short time, and yet we've known each other for so much longer. Our souls are one in the same, joined at the heart. I've loved since I first saw you, needed you since I first knew your name, wanted you since you first spoke mine. I've tried my hardest to prove those three things to you everyday since, as you have to me. I promise to continue to through the rest of time, because without you, even time does not exist. I'm a man of few words, Rosalie, but every word I've spoken has been for you and you alone. I love you, Rosalie Hale, and I'd be honored if you'd be my wife."

She looked down at the ring and a tear slipped from her eye.

"Oh Emmett…"

**ROSALIE'S POV**

(A/N: I'm evil. Get used to it.)

I entered the house tired and worn out after a long day at work. My purse felt like a few thousand pounds pulling down on my shoulder. The house was eerily quiet and dark, seemingly empty. Jasper's car was not in the driveway, so I assumed that everyone had taken his car. Emmett's car had yet to be seen, but he had told me he'd be home tonight when we spoke earlier this afternoon.

As I thought about the phone call, I recalled the odd tone in his voice. I couldn't quite place what the variation was, but he just sounded off. Thinking further about it, I realized he'd sounded a little out of it all week. I sighed.

"Emmett?" I called into the apparently vacant house, hoping he was hiding out somewhere upstairs.

"Be down in a minute. Would you mind taking a look at my Jeep right now? Something's not working right," he called from upstairs.

I grumbled to myself, not in the mood to do much. "Sure," I called back. I hardly had the energy to take the first step, but I loved working on Emmett's Jeep and it was important to him, so why not?

I traveled the short distance to the adjoining garage slowly, my heels clicking on the wooden floors. I opened the side door and entered the garage, flipping on only the necessary lighting. I was only looking straight ahead at the Jeep, my destination.

Popping open the hood, I took a look around.

_Engine…Battery…Velvet box…Wires—Hold up! Velvet box?_

I gasped, picking up the small, velvet cube and opening it to look inside the ring box.

A piece of paper said on the satin lined surface.

_Turn Around, _the note said in Emmett's clean cursive scrawl.

The lights were turned off and the room glowed in reds and pinks from the string lights that now hung on the wall. Romantic classical music began playing softly. I turned around and gasped again as I was met with an extraordinary sight.

There, kneeling before my on one knee was Emmett, clad in a tuxedo, holding an identical velvet box, open to me. In the box lay the most perfect ring I'd ever seen. He knew me too well. He began a beautiful speech as he proposed to me and all I could see and hear was Emmett. My Emmett.

"Rosalie, love of my life, woman of my world, flower of my garden, you mean everything to me. You and I have known each other for such a short time, and yet we've known each other for so much longer. Our souls are one in the same, joined at the heart. I've loved since I first saw you, needed you since I first knew your name, wanted you since you first spoke mine. I've tried my hardest to prove those three things to you everyday since, as you have to me. I promise to continue to through the rest of time, because without you, even time does not exist. I'm a man of few words, Rosalie, but every word I've spoken has been for you and you alone. I love you, Rosalie Hale, and I'd be honored if you'd be my wife."

I was in tears as he finished. It's true. He was a man of few words, and yet every word he'd spoken just now was for me and only me.

"Oh Emmett…" I said in a voice hardly audible to even myself.

_**Flashback #1**_

"_Come on Rosalie, baby," he said in a drunken slur. He'd over done it at the party tonight, and when he was drunk, he was handsy. His hair was a mess, his shirt untucked, his jeans falling off his hips and revealing red plaid boxers._

_I pushed him into the passenger seat of his car, having to bend over him as I buckled his seat belt. He pulled me on top of his lap. "There you go baby."_

"_Let go of me," I demanded. His grip tightened, but I managed to pull myself away._

"_Oh, come on, baby, where you goin'?"_

_I shut the door without giving him his answer and maneuvered around to the other side of the Buick Regal, getting in the driver's side. I didn't have the keys in the ignition before he started grabbing at me again. I swatted his hands away and began driving as quickly as traffic would allow, the keys, which I had to wrestle away from his drunken ass, clanking all the way._

"_Rosalie, why can't I touch you?"_

"_Because, Royce, you're a drunk bastard!" I flared at him. "You always are and I am getting seriously sick of it! I'm fed up with you."_

"_Reeeelax, Rose. I'm not _that _drunk. And I'm no bastard neither," he said, leaning toward me as he spoke. I could smell the strong liquor on his breath._

"_Yeah, I'll believe that when pigs fly out of my ass," I muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter as I pressed on the gas pedal harder for the last spread of street._

_The drive to his apartment consisted of nothing but Royce's pathetic comments and questions answered by my wiseass remarks. When we finally got there, I parked at the curb and went to help Royce out. I helped his stumbling ass upstairs and opened the door for him. I was done with him, but I wasn't going to leave him out on his own. I would feel too guilty if anything happened to him, no matter how much I was seething at the moment._

_He grabbed me by the wrist so hard I swore he would break a bone or two and pulled me into the apartment along with him. "What are you doing to me? Let go of me!"_

"_Don't you love me anymore Rosalie?" he asked._

"_I never loved you," I spat without thinking as I tried with all my strength to rip my wrist from his grasp. His grip tightened and the bone did crack quite audibly. I cried out in pain._

"_Shut up, Bitch! You love me!" he shouted, his words coming together clearly in his sudden burst of rage. His voice then softened. "Tell me you love me, baby."_

"_No," I barked at him, holding back the tears threatening to spill from the physical pain he was inflicting._

_He pulled me by the wrist, once again, harshly and I was flung into his body. He looked down at me with dark eyes, rage burning behind the black that consumed his irises. "Lying skank," he breathed across my scrunched face. He thrust me across the room and my head banged into his coffee table. He locked the door with the two heavy duty locks and slid the chain into place. Then he stocked toward me._

"_Royce," I warned in an uneven voice. "Royce, don't do this. Please think about what you're—OW!" He slapped me flat across the face._

"_I know you love me Rosalie," he cooed, back to the drunken slur. Then his voice turned harsh. "And now you're going to prove it to me!"_

_He was on top of me, straddling me as I struggled to free myself from beneath all of his weight. He held both my hands together above my head and he pressed his liquor flavored mouth to mine, forcing it open as I cried out in pain. I tried kicking and screaming but it was no use. He swallowed my screams and I just couldn't get a good kick from where he was at._

_Still, I never stopped fighting._

_My body began to quiver as he ripped my silk blouse off, frustrated in his intoxicated state by the difficult buttons and only having use of one hand as the other was preoccupied. Then my skirt was pulled down. My underwear was torn of next and while I continued my fight to free myself, my brain and senses completely shut down._

_I felt like I wasn't even within my own body, like I was some sort of lost spirit, watching helplessly off to the side as he assaulted my body and I fought mindlessly._

_And finally, when he was done, he passed out. I managed to get away to a phone and called for help. I was nothing like myself for months and months, and even still I'm not the same girl I once was._

_**Flashback #2**_

"_Aliiiiiiiiiice," I begged. "Please don't make me go and hang out with your boyfriend…AGAIN! I've seen the two of you with your cutesy crap enough times." Bella nodded her head in agreement._

"_You two, quit complaining. His cousin just moved in with him and I got to meet him yesterday. Man, he's a hoot!"_

_I had been arguing this with her for the past thirty minutes on the ride to 'Jazzy-poo's' apartment. She pulled into the parking garage and parked her car in an open space._

"_Now, pull those sticks out of your asses and get your butts up to that apartment." She stood outside the car, tapping her stilettos while Bella and I slowly exited her yellow Porsche. With a swat on the behind each, we were ushered up to Jasper's apartment to meet…Evan was it? No wait, it was Emmett. Yeah, Emmett._

Knock, knock.

_The door opened to a man who clearly was not Jasper._

"_Hello ladies," a man said in a deep voice with an impish grin. He was tall and muscular, big as a bear. His hair was dark and curly, but cut very short. His eyes danced with this childish sparkle and his face was perfectly proportioned._

_I sucked in a breath at the sight of the beautiful man and I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat. "Hi," I replied meagerly. I took a deep breath. "I'm—"_

"_Rosalie," he interrupted. "The sexy blonde one."_

_I laughed. "Great guess. Alice tell you that?"_

"_It was either her of the hamster spinning the wheels inside my head." His deep laugh tickled my ears as the sound vibrated within them._

_Alice cleared her throat. "May we come in or will we be standing out in the hall all night?"_

_He opened the door further and stepped to the side, allowing us to move past him before he closed and locked the door again, his eyes never once leaving my face._

_I took a seat on the sofa and Emmett took the seat beside me while Bella sat on the other side of me. Jasper sat in the recliner and laid back, Alice hopping up into his lap with an all knowing smile. What it was that she knew, I had yet to find out._

_Conversation began and much of it revolved around Emmett's past, though many times he asked me questions about mine._

"_I have an idea," I said. "We need to play twenty questions. We played it when the three of us met and we played it when Alice introduced us to Jasper, so why not play now. It's the fastest way for Emmett to get a feel for everyone and for us to learn everything about Emmett without objection."_

"_Brilliant," Alice said, again with that knowledgeable grin. I was feeling a little out of the loop at the minute. I turned to Bella who had that meek smile, but there was something else behind it. It looked like…loneliness? Oh, poor Bells. Stupid Jacob. But, wait, why particularly lonely now?_

_So, the game began as it had now become tradition. My questions tended to point more toward Emmett than anyone else's, and Emmett's were seemingly more pointed toward me, as he would always be focused on me as the question was asked._

_When finally it was getting too late, Alice, Bella, and I decided it was time to leave Jasper's place, no matter how little we wanted to._

_While in the car, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "I think I'm falling for a man I hardly even know."_

_Bella gasp in surprise, but Alice's all-knowing smile was back in place._

"_What's the hell, Pixie?" I asked, annoyed._

"_Do you think I forced you here for no reason?"_

"_Damn super pixie feeling prediction thingies."_

_**Flashback #3**_

_Two and a half months we'd been together, and I was still too afraid to tell him. He looked like he wanted to tell me every second, but was just waiting to be sure I felt the same way as he did._

_Two and a half months of keeping those words bottled up inside of me, just waiting to bubble out. Just waiting…_

_Two more weeks and the five of us would be moving into our new house, but I still couldn't bring myself to say those simpler words to his face._

_I'd been practicing constantly with a mirror, with a picture of him, and even with Alice as a stand in, but never once was I able to say it to him._

"_I love you, Emmett," I said aloud. Why did it have to be so goddamn hard?!_

"_I love you too, Rosalie" a deep voice said from behind me. I jumped up from where I sat on my bed._

_I was met by a beautiful grin and loving eyes along with the man I was so in love with that it hurt._

"_I love you," I said again to him as he sat down beside me. "I love you Emmett Cullen."_

_He chuckled. "And I love you Rosalie Hale," he said adoringly. He leaned his face in toward mine and gently kissed my lips, before pulling back slowly._

"_You don't know how long I've been trying to tell you," I told him._

"_Too long, I'm sure," he answered as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body closer to his. He laid his head and my shoulder and sighed contentedly._

"_Yes, too long," I repeated._

"…Yes," I answered. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, oh my god yes!" I threw my arms around his neck as I fell to my knees as well. I didn't know a man could smile as largely as Emmett was at that moment.

His lips met mine in less than a second and he held onto me tightly, as if I was a mere dream and would float away the second he let go.

He detached his lips from mine and slipped the ring onto my finger. A large diamond cut to the shape of a heart, placed on a silver band. "It's beautiful Emmett. Thank you."

"You deserve only the best, Rosalie." He kissed me on the lips again before he stood up and helped me up as well. "Now, go upstairs to your room."

I was baffled by the request, but did as he asked. My bedroom door was left ajar and I slipped in. Unlit candles lined the walls and rose petals littered the floor. On my bed was a long red gown and red underwear. My favorite red stilettos were on the floor by the bedside. A note on the bed read, _Something for you to change into for dinner, Angel._

Emmett was out doing himself far too much. I discarded my work clothing and the undergarments I'd been wearing. I put on the red lace thong, which fit perfectly and was surprisingly comfortable. I wouldn't have been surprised if Bella or Alice had picked it out. I slid into the long red gown. It was soft and shiny and, once again, fit perfectly. I loved the way I looked in it, and was sure Emmett would love it too. My hair and make up was a mess, so I went into my bathroom. It didn't take long to fix the make up, a simple swipe and reapply did the trick. The hair needed to be redone, but I decided to just style it with a brush. I brushed it out and then curled my hair around the circular brush and spun the locks around it as I pulled the brush downward. Perfection.

I finished it off with deep red lipstick and rhinestone earrings. My hands shook as I slipped my shoes on. The ring looked as if it belonged on my finger, as if it were made specifically for my hand. I couldn't help the excited shiver that ran up my spine. Finally, I had no more reason to stay up and here and made my way downstairs where an elaborate dinner was set.

Emmett was just lighting the red candles. The food was already separated out onto each of our plates and he pulled out a chair for me to sit. I took the seat gracefully and Emmett gave me a peck on the cheek before following suit and taking his own seat. Conversation flowed easily as we consumed lamb, risotto, a plethora of vegetables, and wine. I was sure Bella had created this delicious meal. Emmett was a great guy and a fantastic eater, but a chef he was not.

Desert was individual chocolate molten lava cakes, which I'd have to thank Bella for later. Emmett and I fed the cakes to each other, enjoying the alone time we had with our candlelight dinner.

"This was incredible, Emmett," I said to him as he took my hand and helped me from my chair.

He pulled me to him and we began slow-dancing to the music that had been playing in the background all night. The candlelight continued to burn as Emmett swayed with me, his head resting on top of mine which lay on his broad chest. As the candles burned low, the songs and minutes passed by.

Finally, Emmett stopped dancing and kissed the back of my hand.

"The night has just begun, my angel," he said, his voice deeper than usual.

He led me upstairs to my bedroom once again and laid me down on the bed. He lit one candle and all the others lit up quickly. There must have been a hundred around the room, all directly against the other, one string laid across the top, connecting them all.

Emmett returned to me and began kissing me gently. I stood up from the bed and pushed his jacket off of his shoulders. It slid down his arms and hit the floor. I removed his bowtie and unbuttoned his shirt, dragging my fingers down the skin as I did so. Shirt fell atop his jacket and Emmett slid the straps of my dress off my shoulders. His fingers brushing along the smooth skin of my shoulder sent a shiver through my spine. With a quick tug of my dress, the soft material slid down my body and pooled around my feet. Our lips never broke contact and now our bare chests made contact. This time Emmett shivered.

My fingers moved to the belt buckle and I unbuckled it in a torturously slow manner. I unbuttoned his pants and undid the zipper, my fingers running over him through the fabric of his underwear. He slipped off his shoes, socks, and then his pants, having to abandon my lips to do so. He also helped me to remove my red heels, and I allowed myself to fall back onto the bed, my hair falling around me.

Emmett lay down on top of me and began the careful assault on my lips once again. "I love you, my beautiful Rosalie."

"I love you too, Emmett," I answered, breathless. We could have stopped right now, and I still wouldn't have cared. I was in love, I was engaged, and I was with the man of my dreams. On the other hand, Emmett and I were about to prove, once again, the love we had for each other.

Underwear was removed and my body was moved into the center of the bed, my head onto the pillow. He sat there, admiring me.

"Love me, Emmett," I whispered. And he moved on top of me once again, only allowing enough of his body weight on me so that I could feel all of him pressed on top of me.

I could feel him at my entrance and his lips for the third time returned to mine. His tongue danced with mine as he entered me and his mouth swallowed my moan. He remained still for a few moments as the both of us enjoyed the pleasure of our connection. Soon he began to move and tenderly, he thrust into me, each time just a little further and further.

There were few who could love the way Emmett and I did. Emotionally, physically, truly. It was rare, and yet Emmett and I were so fortunately blessed with this gift. Our feelings were never confused. We always knew each other's every thought, every movement, every meaning. His heart was mine, mine was his. Physically, the emotion was still love. We had just sex sometimes, yes, but most often, we made love. Every soft caress, every careful thrust, it was all the physical expression of our love.

I met every one of his thrusts, moving in perfect sync as we always had. There was never any doubt in my mind that Emmett and I were meant to be together, that we were born just to love the other. I always believed that, and nothing could ever serve to change my opinion on that matter.

Our rhythm remained steady as we begged for our bodies to allow this to last forever. Our breathing was heavy and our hearts were nearly bursting out of our chests. The both of us were close to the end.

When I finally made it to the edge of the cliff, I could feel Emmett right there with me, and the both of us fell over, hand in hand, heart to heart, bodies intertwined, souls as one.


	9. The Parents and The Locket

**a/n: **so this chapter is something that I'd been planning for a while, except some of it came out a little cornier than I wanted it to. Any who, no there is no lemon in this chapter, but soon enough there will be. Remember that I did say this story was a little OOC and I think that in this chapter, the characters aren't all perfectly in Stephenie Meyer's design. But anyway...I've officially gotten **100,000 **hits on my story "A Never Ending Romance" the very first FanFic I ever wrote. I'm really really happy about that. If any of you want to see how my writing has progressed since I first started, then take a look at the first chapters and you'll all understand how much my writing has improved since April. Lol. Anyway, that's about all the news I've got to share with you at the moment :) Oh, wait, if any of you want to check out my myspace, go and look at my profile and click on my webpage or homepage or whatever the link is and send a friend request...i've had it up there for, well, forever, and i've just decided that I want more friends lol...okay, i'm done now, please read.

WAIT! ONE MORE THING! This chapter changes POVs a couple hundred times, so i'm really sorry, but I thought you would all like to catch little tidbits of it from Alice's and Rosalie's and Esme's POVs too...

**BELLA'S POV**

"Get up, sleepy head," an all too perky voice nearly screamed in my ear.

"God, I hate morning people," I moaned, stretching. The bed was soft and fluffy, the sheets smooth and the quilt plush. The pillows were stuffed to the max and my head melted into their depths. "This isn't my bed," I muttered in confusion, still not having opened my eyes. Alice giggled from somewhere in the room and I opened my eyes, spotted her tiny frame, and threw a pillow in her direction.

It missed terribly and knocked my cell phone off the desk.

"Nice shot, Shaq," Alice said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah. What time is it?" I asked, after remembering we were in the hotel because Emmett and Rosalie would need some 'alone time' after the engagement was official.

"Eight thirty," she answered.

I slipped out from under the covers and my feet him the tan carpet floor. I scurried over to my suit case in the corner of the room and pulled out the clothes I had packed for the day. I grabbed my toiletries next and went toward the bathroom. "What are you even doing here anyway?" I asked her after I was safely behind the locked door. "I would think you and Jasper would be getting a little busy in _your own room_."

She laughed. "I think I wore him out a little last night," she said. I couldn't help but laugh earlier. Alice was a tiny ball of super energy. She had more energy than a thousand cans of Red Bull. I didn't know how Jasper ever kept up with her, but so far, he'd managed.

"That's a first, Pix. How did you manage that?" I asked. She actually began answering, but I cut her off. "I don't actually think I want to know. Really, I don't want to hear it. I heard enough last night." I grimaced as I recalled some of the things I heard from 'the little cowgirl and her horse' last night before I finally managed to fall asleep, sounds blocked from my ears behind the safety of two very big pillows.

Alice laughed again and I turned on my shower. I could hear the TV turn on in my room and the theme song for one of the many shows on the Style Channel. Alice would be kept happy for the next half hour while I got myself ready for the day. The warm water beating down on my tense shoulders soothed away the shackles of drowsiness that had still tied me down heavily.

I was washing the strawberry shampoo from my hair when something hit me.

"Shit!" I cried out as I recalled that Doctor and Missus Cullen would be arriving this afternoon.

"Bella? Are you alright in there?" Alice called, knocking on the bathroom door.

"I'm fine Alice, I think. No physical injuries that is…just a mark from the mental head slap," I called back and I could hear Alice's tiny laugh as she abandoned her 'save Bella' campaign.

I was glad I had remembered this when I'd packed for today. I finished washing the shampoo out and conditioned. After I dried off, I threw my hair up into a bun and put on my clothes for the day. Next, I let my hair back down and dried it with the hair drier – I'd have Alice style it when I was done. When finally it was dry enough, I opened the bathroom door and walked out into my hotel room.

**ALICE'S POV**

"That dress is absolutely terrible. What the hell were they thinking?" I questioned the TV.

Only half of my attention was on the TV as I drifted off into memories of last night. Jasper was always incredible, and having been deprived of intimacy for a few days due to utter exhaustion, last night was even more astounding than usual. I sighed and sank back into Bella's unmade bed as I dreamed about my wedding. It was going to be perfect. I'd been planning it since the day I first met Jasper, and it would be undeniably magnificent. And now, Rosalie would be getting married too. Could life be anymore perfect?

I sighed. It could.

How?

Well, I'd just like to say this: two down, one to go.

"Shit!" I heard Bella's voice shout from in the bathroom and ran to the door, afraid she'd hurt herself.

She assured me she was fine, and so I returned to my seat on the bed and continued my thought processes as one of my shows continued to be broadcast.

Soon, the shower turned off, the hair dryer blasted, and then finally, Bella stepped out of the bathroom in a beautiful, deep blue sundress. I had no idea when she'd gotten it, but it was absolutely stunning and I was glad she was dressing up. As to why, I wasn't sure, but anything was better than her worn out jeans and plain shirts.

"Don't we look lovely this morning…" I commented as I grabbed the curling iron from out of her duffel bag.

"It looks good, right? I don't look slobbish or ugly or fat or stupid or frumpy or—"

"Shut it, Bella," I said, pushing her down onto the bed near the wall as I plugged in the curling iron. "You look absolutely wonderful as you always do. Of course, today you look even better considering you're wearing something that actually accentuates your feminine figure." The iron heated up quickly and by the time I had finished speaking it was almost hot enough to start. I handed it off to Bella for her to hold while I rummaged through her duffel to get some hairspray.

"There's some freesia scented hairspray in there at the bottom, underneath my big night shirt," Bella told me.

"Thank you," I said, finding it exactly where she told me it'd be. She hadn't worn that to bed last night though. I had found her this morning in her boy short underwear and the top she'd worn yesterday evening. She wasn't even embarrassed that she had no pants on, which was odd for her. Usually she'd be bright red, but already I could see small changes in Bella. Even this morning, just speaking to me about what she'd heard last night from mine and Jasper's room, not a tint of pink touched her cheeks. I was very impressed.

The two of us talked for a while as I put gentle curls into that mahogany hair that any girl would envy. The hairspray had little hold, but just enough to keep her hair curly while still looking like it was naturally that way. I was dying to ask her about Edward, but I supposed it would have to wait for another time as she had already rushed off to get her shoes and put on her make up, once again behind the locked door of the bathroom.

I once again drifted off into thoughts off my wedding, wondering if I would prefer red or pink rose petals to be mixed in with the white ones.

"Already, let's hit the road," Bella said. She threw everything she brought with her into the duffel bag and zipped it up. The back didn't even bulge at all. I looked down, not even having had the chance to see her shoes earlier. They were white sandals with wedge heels.

_That's a disaster waiting to happen, _I thought, but kept that to myself as I had been the one to purchase those shoes for Bella. She packed up all of the rest of her things into her purse and threw both over her good shoulder.

"How is your shoulder?" I asked Bella as we left the room.

"Good. I don't have to worry much about it anymore. I can actually change clothes without help now," she said, although the look on her face was more disappointment than happiness. She obviously enjoyed teasing Edward. I grinned mischievously as I thought of all the tactics for torture that I could teach her. We'd have to go lingerie shopping later. And maybe we could—

"Alice? I know that look, and it never brings anything good our way," Bella said, stopping in front of the elevator and looking down at me nervously.

I just laughed and pressed the down arrow, summoning the elevator to bring us down to the lobby for breakfast.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I stepped into the elevator, buttoning the last of the buttons of my black dress shirt. I rolled up the sleeves, as I always did, to my elbows and left the top two buttons undone, allowing some of my chest to show through. My hair was its usual mess and I didn't even bother trying to fix it, afraid of mussing it further. My jeans were the ones that Alice had gotten me to buy, as were the Steve Maddens and the dress shirt I wore. The woman had great taste. And not just in clothes either. She was smart to choose Jasper.

The elevators began their descent to the lobby and I dropped my duffel back to the floor, but it stopped after only two floors. I could hear a voice muttering something and as the doors opened, I was met with the intoxicating appearance of my Bella.

_Not __**your**__ Bella, Edward, _I reminded myself. _Not yet, at least._

Her luminous hair was in loose curls, falling around her shoulders and just over her chest somewhat. The deep blue sundress she was wearing was form fitting and accented her silken skin, giving her a glow that even the dark couldn't dull. Her chocolate brown pools that were her eyes sparkled in delight and she wore a light gold shimmer over her eyelids. She had deep blue eyeliner on and her lashes were long and dark. Her smile was radiant, her lips sparkling with a small glimmer of lip gloss. Her legs looked toned and endless in her white sandal wedges and I wondered shortly if I'd need to keep an arm around her all afternoon to keep her from making acquaintances with the floor.

"Morning ladies. Would you like some help with that, Bella?" Bella nodded as she stepped into the elevator and handed the duffel bag off to me. I took it and placed it on my right shoulder, placing my arm around Bella's waist and pulling her close to me. She just looked too beautiful. I wasn't sure I'd be able to let go of her at all, even when my parents were here.

"How did you sleep?" she asked as Alice moved silently and contentedly over to a corner. I smiled at the tiny woman and she just grinned back.

"Like a rock," I answered. "Although, there were some…interesting…noises coming from two floors down all evening."

Bella laughed, shooting a mocking look over at Alice. "I know exactly what you mean."

As Bella laughed, her small frame shook against me. She leaned further into me and I smiled at the feeling. She fit almost too perfectly. One puzzle piece to another. The elevator began its decent and I got that exhilarating feeling in my stomach when you dropped faster than your body was ready for. Of course, my stomach was already in knots just from the contact from Bella.

As the doors dinged open, I picked up my duffel bag from where I'd dropped it on the ground and slung it over the same shoulder as where Bella's was. We all moved from the elevator into the small breakfast nook of the hotel and took our seats, Bella moving with surprising grace, not even stumbling once over her own feet.

We went over to the small buffet and I got a doughnut, waffles, eggs, bacon, and coffee. I wasn't a pig, but I was strangely hungry this morning. Bella and Alice each settled for cinnamon muffins and coffee. Jasper joined us in an unsurprising good mood.

"Someone enjoyed their evening," I teased.

"How many times did our little cowgirl ride you?" Bella asked, daring him to be anything but embarrassed. You could see two things play out in Jasper's face. One, the surprise and shock as to what reserved little Bella had said to him. Two, embarrassment that all of the rest of us knew about _everything _that went on behind closed doors.

"I…I…I'm, uh, just gonna go and get some, er, breakfast?" Jasper said, more as a question than statement, before he dashed off for the food.

I couldn't help but chuckle. If only Emmett were here. He'd be shaking down the entire hotel with his booming laughter.

"Bella," Alice whispered. "What in the world has gotten into you?" She seemed more curious than upset. Actually, judging by the smile, she was nothing other than jubilant and curious.

Bella whispered something back which I couldn't quite catch and Alice grinned like I'd never seen anyone grin before.

"So, my parents will be getting to the house around noon, which means that we won't have much time to clean up the mess," I said, digging into my meal.

"Carlisle and Esme are coming?" Jasper asked, taking his seat and dragging Alice's right up next to his. She picked up the fork on his plate of various breakfast foods and began feeding him scrambled eggs.

"Umhm. I called them the other day and they got it all set to fly out here. I offered to pick them up, but they wanted to take a car service instead."

"And they're bringing some sort of necklace or other," Bella added, causing Jasper to go into a coughing fit before finally gaining control again and shooting me a look that was a mix between 'congratulations' and 'are you sure?'.

I just nodded subtly.

Thirty minutes later we were all checked out and on the road back to Forks. Jasper drove, Alice once again in the passenger seat, and Bella and me in the back. She was looking dazedly out the window and I willed myself to hear her silent thoughts. When finally I couldn't take it any longer, I asked, "What are you thinking?"

She broke out of her trance immediately and blushed that beautiful shade of crimson. "Nothing," she murmured.

I was even more interested now in what she had been thinking, but didn't push it further. Soon we'd arrived back at the house and I decided it'd be best if first we were to call and make sure the two are decent.

"_Future Missus Emmett Cullen speaking," _Roses voice said over the line.

I laughed. "This is the future brother-in-law of the future Missus Emmett Cullen calling to ask if the both of you are decent enough for all the rest of us to come back inside and clean up before the rest of your in-laws get here…"

"_Emmett and I are, um, getting decent."_ I could here clothes rustling and Emmett cursing as he hopped around, trying to put on what I would assume to be a pair of jeans, considering he always had trouble with jeans.

"We'll see you in a few." I hit end on my BlackBerry. "They'll be a second," I said, opening the back of the car and pulling out both mine and Bella's duffel bags. Jasper grabbed his and Alice's.

Bella went up to the door and pulled a set of keys from her purse, inserting them into the lock and turning it until the tumblers allowed the door to open. She took a few steps inside and looked around. She came back outside and whispered, "the coast is clear…no naked Emmett or Rosalie insight."

I laughed at her ridiculous antics and I could see her smile threatening to break through her serious expression. The four of us made our way inside and dropped the bags onto the floor in the foyer. We would bring them upstairs when we were sure that the coast was truly clear.

"We're engaged!" Rosalie exclaimed and I turned to see her at the top of the steps wearing smeared make up, her hair a mess, boxer shorts, a t-shirt, and the goofiest grin she could ever produce.

Alice and Bella squealed, though they already knew, and ran up the steps to hug their best, newly engaged friend. The three of them jumped around excitedly, wrapped in each others' arms.

"Congratulations, Rose," I called up to her. The three stopped and she ran down the steps toward me. She hugged just as enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much Edward," she said into my shoulder.

I laughed as I hugged her back. "What for?"

"Emmett was waiting for you and I to meet, I just know it."

I was stunned. "I, um, guess you're welcome."

"Now, there's a load of crud all around this house and we have less than an hour and a half to get it spotless before Doctor and Missus Cullen get here," Bella said. Rose just smiled and Emmett came up behind from out of nowhere and encircled her in his arms, leaning his head onto his shoulder as he listened for Bella's instructions.

"Rosalie, you're job is to get yourself cleaned up and perfectly presentable, as you always are. I got you a pretty pink blouse to wear with your favorite white jeans for today. You've got some serious scrubbing to do, missy, if that's the lipstick you had on last night." Rose nodded. "Alright, Emmett, you get both your bedroom and Rose's cleaned up." Emmett nodded and pressed a kiss into the side of Rose's neck. He was grinning like he did on his thirteenth birthday when Mom and Dad bought him the game system he'd been begging for.

"Alice, Jasper, you two need to get start in on the garage. I'm going to get started on the kitchen. Edward, you make sure your piano is cleaned up and then you can either help me or Alice and Jasper." The rest of us nodded at our assignments, aware that they were nonnegotiable. "Hands in," Bella said as she placed her right hand into the middle of our small huddle. "On three. One, two, three."

"Break!" we all cried in unison as we threw our hands into the air and laughed.

Everyone headed in their separate directions, and I went for the garage with Alice and Jasper, already knowing my piano was fine and that the garage would require the most work with all the strung up lights and the stereo speakers we'd placed, not to mention the things we'd moved around.

**BELLA'S POV**

I cleared everything at the table first. I put the candles away and placed the rose blossoms on a small clear plate in the middle of the table, adding a small amount of water to the center. The table cloth was folded and put away and the water that had once been ice in the ice bucket was dumped down the drain of the seat. The dinner from yesterday hadn't been cleared at all so I immediately dumped all the uneaten food into a garbage bag and put into the trashcans out back. I washed the silver ware, glasses, and dishes and tossed the rest of the wine as well, considering that bugs or something else could be in it by now.

When finally that was done, I cleaned the rest of the kitchen until it was spotless, doing all the pots that I hadn't been able to do before leaving. I put the dishes away from where they were in the dishwasher and put all the recently rinsed dishes into the empty shelves.

"I love watching you work in the kitchen," my favorite voice said, and I turned to see Edward sitting at the counter on a stool. His crooked grin had me melting in my sandals and I wanted to kiss that smile off his face.

"Watch away, then," I answered, turning toward the refrigerator to look for something to make. "What do you think they'd want to eat?" I asked as I heard Edward getting up and walking toward me. I bent forward, sticking my head into the fridge in search of something that looked especially delicious.

Arms wrapped around my waist from behind me and Edward's body pressed against me completely, his upper body leaning over top of mine as his lips brushed against my ear. "Anything you make they'll be sure to love."

I shivered involuntarily as his breath rushed against my ear and I heard his low chuckle rumbling from his chest, vibrating against my back. I looked in front of me and grabbed the thin sliced chicken breasts as well as three eggs, Edward still clutching onto my body. I moved to back up and pressed my behind against him further to move him out of my way. I could feel a bulge in his pants and smiled to myself. _Serves him right._

He released me and I placed the contents of my arms onto the counter. I went to a cabinet and grabbed bread crumbs, canola oil, a glass bowl, and a large serving plate. I went to a utensil drawer and grabbed a whisk, a large knife, a spatula, and a fork. I grabbed a regular plate and a large frying pan.

I slipped each slice of chicken into the beaten eggs in the bowl using the fork and then placed it onto the regular plate, which was covered in bread crumbs. I coated each piece in bread crumbs and then put them into the scorching oil in the frying pan. Not long later I pulled each piece out and laid them on twenty sheets of paper towels which absorbed all the oil.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I watched enchanted as Bella cooked up a lunch for my parents and the residents of our house out of what I would think to be the most random ingredients. When she was finally finished, she set it all out on the serving platter and handed them to me. I placed them out on the dining room table and Bella went to get plates and silver ware. She placed those items on the counter and I began setting up the table. She went to the cabinet and pulled out two bags of chips: regular baked Lays and cool ranch Doritos.

She pulled out large glass bowls and filled them with the chips. She set those out and then began pulling glasses, setting those around at each place as well. When finally she was satisfied with her work, she went back into the kitchen and grabbed a small piece of breaded chicken that she'd left, split it in half, and handed the half to me.

"Milanesa," she said. "Try it."

I did as I was told and found it delectable, as I always did when Bella cooked for me thus far. "All hail the queen of the kitchen," I said.

She laughed and went to the fridge, pulling out lemon juice, lime juice, ketchup, honey mustard, spicy mustard, and a few other condiments. Those were placed throughout the table.

When Bella was finally finished, she went to the mirror in the hall and began fussed with her hair and make up. I walked up behind, as I had multiple times today, and grabbed her hands.

"You look incredible, Bella. Stop worrying," I told her. I knew my parents would love her. How could they not? I kissed her soft cheek and I could feel the heat rising in them as she blushed. I smiled to myself.

**BELLA'S POV**

Edward gave my cheek a tender kiss and I couldn't help but blush as I was caught in my nervous state. Edward grinned crookedly to himself and I turned as Rosalie and Emmett arrived down stairs.

Just as Alice and Jasper emerged from the garage, a car could be heard rolling up our driveway. I stood unmoving as Edward, Emmett, and Jasper made toward the door. Rose and Alice seemed as frozen as I, and we just looked at each other in worry.

Emmett and Edward's parents were as close to their sons as they were to Jasper, and so we knew that meant that this meant as much to Alice as it did to Rose and, hopefully, it would mean for me.

The door was opened and the men stepped out onto the porch to great the couple. Alice, Rose, and I grabbed hold of each others' hands for support, and by some miracle, we were able to bring ourselves out onto the porch.

A man and woman, looking to be in nothing more than their early thirties, stepped out of the back of the black Lexus.

The woman walked up to Edward and hugged him, saying his name in greeting, and then proceeded to do the same with Emmett and Jasper. She had caramel colored hair and a light skin tone. She was probably around my height, though I couldn't quite be sure. Her eyes were a grayish green, no where near as pure or vibrant as Edward's, but had that same, lively sparkle I saw in his. She had a delicate smile and a petite nose, her face overall elegant. She was absolutely beautiful.

The man who stepped out behind her was tall, blond, and gorgeous. His eyes were bright blue, like Emmett's, and the lines in his face were strongly set. His smile was like Emmett's as well, but his voice was smooth like Edward's as he greeted his sons and nephew. His build was similar to Edward's as well, strong and fit and toned, but not over the top and obvious. He looked highly intelligent and wise. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. All I knew was that he was without a doubt Edward's father. The guy had a heaven-sent gene pool.

"Mom, Dad, this is my fiancée, Rosalie," Emmett said, taking her from mine and Alice's grasp and wrapping an arm around her waist to let her know he was there.

"Finally, someone who will put up with my son," Edward's mother joked dramatically.

Rose laughed, beginning to loosen up already. "I'll gladly put up with him _any _day."

"You don't know how happy I am to here that, dear. I'm Esme," their mother introduced herself.

"Pleasure to meet you," Rosalie answered.

"The pleasure is all ours," the man replied. "Carlisle Cullen."

Rose smiled and sank back into Emmett's hold, seeing how much the two already loved her.

"Welcome to our family, Rosalie," Esme said.

"Thank you. You can call me Rose, by the way."

"Rose," Esme mused. "My favorite flower."

"Mine, too," Rose giggled.

After a moment of silence, Jasper stepped up and pulled my last bit of strength away from me as he spun Alice into his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head, having to bend over a little to do so.

"And this would be my fiancée Alice 'the all fashionable' Brandon."

Esme laughed. "Lovely."

"I wish could have met sooner," Carlisle said, knowing that the engagement had occurred over a month ago.

Alice shrugged. "Life is busy. All that matter's is that we were able to meet. Jasper constantly speaks of you."

"Is that right…" Esme began. "We speak often of Jasper as well. He's such a good boy, done so well and accomplished so much."

"Indeed he has," Alice answered. She placed her hands on top of Jasper's and he kissed her head quickly.

"Have you decided when the wedding will be?" Esme asked.

Alice instantly perked up and bounced up and down, nearly knocking her head into Jasper's jaw. "Not yet. I'm thinking in a year or two, maybe a spring wedding. In a tent outside just as the flowers begin to bloom."

"She's quite the planner," Jasper commented.

"I think that sounds wonderful Alice. Maybe later we can discuss the details further."

Carlisle turned to look at me. "Ah, Isabella. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

Well, that threw me for a loop. "You look familiar, but I can't recall from where."

Edward looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement.

"The summer you spent in Chicago a few years back. You were quite the klutz," Carlisle said with a laugh.

"Oh my god!" I cried in realization. "Doctor C. I can't believe I forgot." I felt the heat in my cheeks as I blushed what I'm sure was a bright crimson.

He chuckled. "That's alright, Bella. You were 15 or 16, but you still look much like that girl I'd treated time and time again in my office. Your looks have surely matured though."

"What's going on here?" Edward finally asked.

I laughed as I walked over to him and grabbed his hands in mine as I began to explain. "Remember when we talked about my parents on Thursday in the car?" He nodded. "I told you that my mother lived in Chicago at one point. That was one of the times I spent a month and a half with her over the summer. I was a total klutz and broke my leg pretty badly. Doctor C, I mean Carlisle, happened to be the doctor I went to for all my appointments. I saw a lot of him."

Edward chuckled and placed a kiss on my forehead. I blushed again as I turned to see his parents looking at the two of us. Esme was holding onto Carlisle's arm and leaning into his side while Carlisle had his other hand over top of one of hers. "You and your spastic ways," Edward muttered.

"Let's go inside," I offered. Edward released me and went to go retrieve one of his parents' bags while Emmett got the other. The wind blew past me and my hair blew off my shoulders.

"Oh my," Esme said.

I turned to see my shoulder was bare of everything but the small strap that held my dress up, the stitched up part of my shoulder still very visible.

"What did you this time?" Carlisle asked teasingly.

I blushed, as I had done so many times since this morning that I was afraid I'd turn tomato red permanently. "Minor accident. Edward did a great job fixing it up."

"Make sure you apply Vitamin E. It will heal faster and scarring will be unlikely," Carlisle said.

"Will do," I answered, opening up the front door and holding it open for everyone as they passed through.

I flipped my hair back over on top of my wound and closed the door behind me, watching as the Lexus drove off back to the airport.

"Something smells delicious," Esme commented.

"Thank you," I said, walking toward the dining room. "I wanted to have lunch ready for when you guys arrived in case you would be hungry."

"I'm starving," Esme answered with a laugh.

"Me too," Emmett agreed, jumping into his seat at the head of the table. No one could help but to laugh as they took their seats.

"What can I get you guys to drink?" I asked.

There were requests for water, Sprite, and lemonade. I got the pitchers of water and lemonade out of the fridge and set them on the counter, then pulled out two cans of Sprite. Edward came into the kitchen and picked up the pitchers.

"Told you they'd love you," Edward said.

"Yes, yes. You are the all knowing Edward and I bow down to your knowledgeable status," I said mockingly.

He smiled crookedly at me and then left the room to enter a dining room full of laughing people waiting to begin their lunch.

- - - -

**ESME'S POV**

"…So then afterwards, I had to spend an entire hour on the phone explaining to her friend that she was perfectly fine. He was more worried than her own mother," Carlisle said, telling the story about Bella's trips to see him that summer. "How is old Jake?" he asked.

Forks stopped midway to mouths, the sounds of chewing were silenced, and everyone froze in place for a moment before turning to look at Bella, whose fork and knife had dropped to her plate with a loud _clank_. She looked down at her lap, her face hidden behind the wall that her hair formed and she twisted her napkin around in her hands where they rested in her lap.

"I wouldn't know," she replied softly. "We haven't spoken since he called off our engagement two years ago."

I froze then, too, and could feel my maternal instincts trying to pull me over to her in order to comfort her. Still, I remained seated and watched as Edward, who sat beside her, took her hand in his and rubbed soothing circles into the back.

"Oh," was Carlisle's ever intelligent answer. I shot him a look, though I knew it wasn't his fault as he hadn't known. I loved the man, but we all knew where Emmett got his 'open mouth, insert foot' quality from. Carlisle was always in grand control of it, but he had a knack for asking the most innocent things that ended up having a terrible answer at the most inopportune times.

"Bella, dear, would you show me to a restroom?" I asked, hoping to allow her a moment of escape.

"Sure," she answered looking up from her lap. She appeared composed, but I could see the small pain behind her eyes. I knew how painful it was to have an engagement broken off. Had it not been for that, though, I would have never met Carlisle.

I stood from my seat and placed my napkin to the side of my plate. Edward leaned over and whispered something into Bella's ear and then she stood as well. Her hand slipped from his slowly and reluctantly and then I followed her as she led me into the kitchen.

"The bathroom is right through that door," she told me, pointing to a door in the back corner.

I laughed. "I don't honestly need to go. On the other hand, I know you needed an escape."

She smiled weakly at me. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Believe me, I know your pain. All too well, honestly."

She looked at me in question.

"Yes, I know. You'd think Carlisle and I had been together all our lives. Well, that's not true." I decided I'd share with her the lowest moment of my past. I could see the way that Edward had looked at her all throughout lunch. I could see the way that he spoke to her and held her in his arms and smiled every time he heard her laugh or speak or every time she smiled. I knew that she was the only one who had ever done this to Edward, and without a doubt, the only one who would ever do this for Edward.

"I'd spent all of my high school years dating a man named James. He was quite a lovely, intelligent, friendly boy. After high school the both of us went to college and the day of graduation we were engaged, so sure the both of us were in love. Well, soon he became estranged from me, indifferent, distant. Numerous times I asked him what was troubling him, but every time he blamed it on his job. Months later, he finally told me he'd fallen out of love with me. And not only that, but he was in love with one of his co-workers, Victoria. I handed him my engagement ring, packed up my bag, and left to my best friend's house. She took me in without a fuss and tried her best to comfort me, but everyday I grew more and more upset. Then, I did something unspeakable…" I paused taking a deep breath. This was never something I would share with anyone, especially not the day I met them, but I knew that this would help Bella, and the poor girl seemed so pained.

"I attempted suicide. There was a cliff not far away from where my family's vacation cabin laid, a place I spent much of my time at as a little girl during the summer. I was stupid and hurting and wanted to get away, so I jumped. I was fortunate that I landed on soft ground, something that I hadn't known would happen, and was only knocked unconscious with a number of broken bones and gashes. I awoke to the face of a beautiful blonde angel, and I was absolutely positive I was in Heaven. Then I learned I was in the hospital being treated by Doctor Cullen. Carlisle was my angel, and I was immediately thrilled to learn I'd survived as I experienced true love at first sight."

Bella smiled at me. "It's a shame what some people must go through," she said to me. "That was a beautiful story. You really have some good luck on your side."

I laughed, patting Bella's hand which rested on the counter. "So do you, dear. So do you."

I walked back into the dining room and took my seat beside Carlisle, taking his hand in my and giving it a tender squeeze, he looked at me and smiled that precious smile that I fell in love with all of those years ago.

**EDWARD'S POV**

Bella came back into the room and I smiled at her, having overheard what my mother had said to her in the kitchen.

You could say I was an eavesdropper.

I'd say I was merely curious.

My mother had told me that story a few years ago, my brother a few years before that. I didn't know how many other people she'd told, but I knew it was few. She was never proud of what she'd done, only unashamed of how it turned out.

Taking her seat beside me, Bella smiled back. I took her hand and placed a kiss on the back and then placed it back in her lap. I could see that delicious blush forming in her cheeks and I chuckled to myself as I resumed eating.

Conversation had moved to Emmett's plans for his gym. Apparently he had found the perfect place and had the money to buy it now. He was planning on getting his realtor to start working on the papers this week. He'd have to do a lot of construction to make it the gym that he wanted, but at the moment, he felt it was absolutely perfect otherwise.

"If there's anything that we can do to help, just let us know, son," Carlisle said after listening intently to every detail Emmett spewed. I was only paying attention to half the things he'd said, as more than fifty percent of my attention was on Bella. She sat so still beside me that I wasn't sure if she was alright or not. She wasn't smiling, but she appeared calm. I wondered if my plans tonight would help at all.

After more conversation about the gym, everyone began moving out to the living room to continue talking. Mom and Dad would get the grand tour later. I decided to stay and help Bella clear the table and do the dishes. At the moment, I didn't feel like leaving her alone for a moment, not that I ever wanted to leave her side.

**ALICE'S POV**

Conversation flowed nicely and I knew that Esme and I would be best friends, even if she would always be in Chicago.

"How are your designs coming, Alice?" Esme asked.

"Wonderfully. I've finished an entire winter line that I'm really hoping I can launch this year. I've got part of the attic set up as a studio for my designs. A lot of them are still drawings, but I've actually brought a few of them to life. I'd love to show you if you've got a moment."

"That would be splendid," Esme answered, standing up. I stood as well and held out my arm for her to take. She took it and we walked up the stairs giggling as she began telling me stories of Jasper and moments in his childhood. "…And I swear, it took me hours to get the dirt out of all their mouths after that. I never gave them gummy worms ever again."

I practically keeled over laughing as we made it to the steps of the attic. I opened the door to my half of the attic. It was my prized possession, my studio. The floors were a light, almost white, wood, like in a dance studio, and there were mannequins that held a few of my designs. The walls were painted white and one side of the room was lined with mirrors so I could get a good view of everything I worked on. On the other side of the room, papers with drawings of my favorite creations hung on the wall in frames. My notebooks and drawing pads were in a book shelf on that wall too. A stereo sat on the window sill of the large window and I listened to the rain tinkling against the glass.

"_THIS _is my studio." I stood in the middle of the room, held out my arms and spun around.

"It's lovely. Did you design the room?" I nodded, and she smiled. "I don't think I could have done better. If you want, I'm planning on expanding to add another branch to my company that will work outside of the Chicago area. If you're interested…"

My mouth dropped open at the offer. "Heck yeah!" I cried out, jumping over to Esme and wrapping her in a hug. She laughed as she hugged me back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

Laughing even more, Esme replied, "My pleasure. I would definitely need someone as intelligent, dedicated, perky, and, of course, talented as you to run this branch."

I loved my job, but I preferred doing everything from scratch. Being a personal shopper was never my dream job, merely something I was good at. Plus, being the boss meant I was under my own schedule and I could work on my designs with my greater free time. Interior designing was always fun, something I had done throughout the entire house, or at least had started.

"Do you want to see the plans I have for the unfinished rooms?" I asked. Esme nodded. I walked over to my book case and pulled out one of my notepads. "These are all of the rooms and hallways in the house. Some of them are already done, others are in the process of being done or still being figured out."

She scanned through each page, carefully scrutinizing each image, color choice, set up, and overall design. "You have a real knack, Alice. You've certainly found everything you want in life."

I smiled. "And it all started when I found Jasper."

**ROSALIE'S POV**

Emmett, Carlisle, and I discussed a variety of things. My job, Emmett's job, Carlisle's job, Forks, Seattle, family, friends, aspirations, mine and Emmett's relationship, the house, life… the list was endless. After a while, Bella joined us and Edward went upstairs to find his mother, _my future mother-in-law, _I thought with a smile, and Alice. He soon came downstairs holding a box in his hand and I recognized it immediately.

I nudged Emmett. "Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?" I asked.

Emmett looked at me, then at Edward, then at Bella, then back to Edward, and then to Carlisle, who nodded, and finally back to me. "Yup."

I smiled. This was good, very, very good.

"Bella?" Edward asked, offering her his hand to help her from the sofa. "Come with me?"

She nodded and stood up, unable to see the box as it was being held behind his back. He led her out onto the back porch where they could have some privacy.

"No way," I finally let burst from my mouth. I grabbed the necklace that was around my neck and kissed the pendant. "Bella doesn't even have any idea."

Emmett's arm, which was around my waist, pulled me closer and I placed a quick peck on his neck as he began speaking with his father again.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I found myself too restless to wait until tonight, and so after finishing the dishes and cleaning up in the kitchen, I led Bella into the living room and then went in search of my mother.

I looked in every room on the second floor and couldn't find her or Alice. I was about to go down to the first floor in case they had returned to the living room when I heard laughing from upstairs. I could easily recognize them as Alice's and Mom's laughs.

I went up to the attic, remembering that Alice's studio was up there, and made my way in through the open door.

"Mom? Do you have the necklace?" I asked anxiously.

She looked up at me, startled by my sudden appearance and then pointed over to her purse before turning back to Alice's drawings.

"Oh, I love this one," she said.

"I can make one for you if you'd like," Alice replied.

"I'd love that!"

I left them to their bonding and traveled downstairs to retrieve Bella. She sat timidly in the same spot that I had left her. I held the box behind my back as I offered her my hand, asking to come with me. She complied and I led her out to the back porch, my hand on the small of her back.

It was raining, but the sound of the rain drops was always music to me. Some evenings I would try my hardest to stay awake as I laid in bed, listening to the drops on the window pane.

I sat her down on the porch swing and I took the seat beside her. The white wooden seat swung back and forth for a few minutes as the both of us enjoyed the peace and the music of the rain.

"Why did you ask me out here?" Bella finally asked in curiosity.

I smiled, withdrawing the long, dark blue box from behind my back with the silver scrawl on it that read _Edward_ in a beautiful script.

"What's this?" she asked, examining the box I placed in her hand.

"Open it," I answered, looking into the deep pools of brown that didn't appear to have a bottom.

She did and looked inside. Gasping in surprise, she removed the necklace from where it's sat since my parents found out I'd be a boy.

"Edward," she said softly, examining it. I carefully removed the locket from her hands and motioned for her to turn her back to me. She did so, lifting her hair of the back of her neck, and I put the necklace in place. It was a silver heart locket with an _E _on the heart in a script imprint. A small diamond was set into the silver where the bottom line of the E curved off and down, right at the very end of the curly line.

"Bella, I know this sounds a little, grade school, but will you be my girl friend?" I asked once she turned to face me again.

She looked me straight in the eye, staring deep into the depths of my soul. I awaited her answer, but she said nothing, sitting in stunned silence and almost waiting for me to retract my offer. I didn't. I just waited.

After what felt like an eternity, she nodded. "Of course, Edward." I smiled and leaned in to her, pressing my lips to her.

She responded, standing up and pulling me with her, her lips never once leaving mine. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her up against me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her fingers twisted in my hair. I slid my tongue along her lips, begging for entrance, and she separated her lips. My tongue slipped into her mouth slowly, savoring every taste I received. Hers ran along mine and soon they were dancing together as I pulled Bella to me tighter.

Her mouth tasted like heaven and I knew that if I died here and now, I'd die a happy man.

It wasn't long, though, before the need for oxygen overtook the both of us and we had to separate. I rested my head on her shoulder, kissing the exposed collar bone. "You are absolutely incredible, Isabella."

"And yet I still have nothing on you," she answered.

"I doubt that," I muttered into her skin, the vibration of my lips causing her to involuntarily shiver. I laughed and she swatted my back. "What?"

"Nothing," she replied with a small giggle.

When a crash of thunder and a bolt of lightening were added into the current rain, Bella and I decided to reenter the house.

When Rosalie saw Bella wearing the necklace, she ripped her from my grasp and ran her upstairs, most likely to Alice and Mom in the studio. I looked to Emmett and he just shrugged. "Women," he muttered.

**BELLA'S POV**

_I'm Edward's girlfriend, I'm Edward's girlfriend, _I sang cheerfully in my head.

Rose was pulling me up the steps to the attic at an unbelievably fast pace.

"Look, look, look!" Rose shouted at Alice who was on the floor beside Esme, flipping through notebook.

Alice looked up to see Rose pointed at the necklace around my neck and Alice dropped the notebook she held. "Oh. My. God!" She jumped up and wrapped me in a hug, jumping up and down so much that I was afraid she'd break through the floor if she were to weigh a few pounds more.

"Welcome to the club, Bella," Esme said.

"What club?" I asked.

Esme, Alice, and Rosalie each demonstrated a necklace identical to mine, though only Rosalie was exactly the same as mine. Alice's had a _J _and Esme's had a _C_.

"It's a tradition in the Cullen family," Esme said. "If you give birth to a boy, the day you learn he's male, you order the necklace. You have to know the name first, of course, but that's beside the point. You get the first letter of the name put onto the silver locket and a diamond as well."

"When the guy finally meets the girl, he gives her the necklace with the promise that she'll be his," Rose continued.

"So has he ever given this necklace to anyone else?" I asked.

Alice laughed. "No, silly. Didn't you hear Rose? _The _girl. The guy, namely Edward in this case, only gets one chance to ever give the necklace to anyone. Edward gave to you because, at least subconsciously, he feels that you're the one. You'll be the only girl to ever where that locket, and it's understood that you never take it off."

"And then, two pictures will be placed inside," Rose continued. "The first is of your engagement, and the second is of your wedding."

"You're kidding me, right?" I asked, totally caught off guard by the story and meaning behind the beautiful locket.

"Nope," they all answered in unison. I looked up at them and smiled, a tear slipping from my eye.

"Thank God, because if you were joking about that, I'd be really pissed at you guys."


	10. An Alice Original

**a/n: so I'm really really really really really really sorry about the lack of updates. Basically, tennis season just ended on Monday, but I've been really busy because this guy that I REALLY like just asked me out a week and a half ago so I've been spending my free time sucking up to my dad because he actually (begrudgingly) gave me permission to date this guy. Anyway, I also just haven't had much time because I like to write my chapters all in one day because when I do that, my writing really flows and tends to have a good quality. When I don't, everything's really choppy and I just want it to sound good for you guys, you know? So, anyway, I thought that i would give you all a nice big chapter of over 11,000 words to make it up to you. granted, most of my chapters are at least 7500 now for this story, but that's beside the point. It's good, i think, and it flows well. I hope you all get my little jokes and if you don't then at least I hope you enjoy it. I think my updates will be a little more frequent now that I have time and so maybe that'll also make it up to you guys. i luv you allllllll!!!!!!!! Jordi B**

**EDWARD'S POV**

"Wake up Eddie Boy," Emmett boomed into my ear as he shook me violently on the bed.

"If you don't quit that right now I'm going to shove a scalpel up your dick," I threatened. The bed-quake stopped immediately and I could just imagine the look on Emmett's face. When I opened my eyes, I knew that my imagination did his reaction no justice. I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"That's not funny, you know," he scolded as he punched me in the arm.

"Ow!" I rubbed my arm where he hit me and sat up in bed. "What are you waking me up for you big oaf?"

"Because we're all going to go chill with Dad," Emmett answered.

"What about Mom?"

"Girls Day."

Damn. I'd wanted to spend the day with both Bella as well as everyone else. Whatever. At least Mom would get to know the girls a lot better now. "Are they still here?"

Emmett actually laughed. "They left three hours ago, Eddie. They have a long day ahead of them."

"First off, don't call me Eddie, and second, what time is it?"

"What's with all the questions?"

"Just answer it."

He sighed dramatically. "Fine. Nine."

"They left at six?!" I asked in surprise.

"No they left at one in the morning," Emmett replied sarcastically.

"Why'd they leave that early?"

"Again with the questions."

I threw a pillow at Emmett and pointed to the door. "Out."

"You may be a guest here, but I own this house Mister. You can't throw me out of the room." He threw the pillow back at me and it hit me square in the face.

I shrugged. "Suit yourself." I got up from the bed in only my boxers and moved toward my dresser where I pulled out a new pair of underwear, shorts, and a t-shirt. I turned around to see Emmett with a raised eyebrow. Apparently he thought I was bluffing as far as just changing right in front of him. I laughed. He was my brother. He'd seen just as much of me as I have. I dropped my boxers and changed into a new pair, then put on the rest of my clothes. When I turned around, Emmett had long since disappeared.

I went down stairs to the kitchen where Emmett stood with a horrified look on his face. I broke into a laughing fit and Jasper and Dad just looked at me as if they were ready to commit me to the psych ward. "That was some really nasty shit Edward," Emmett finally said.

"I told you to get out."

"But still!"

"_Butt_ still, you didn't, so I just got changed."

"Ha ha ha very funny," he said, once again sarcastic.

"Anyway…" I decided to change the subject. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"We figured we'd hit the batting cages, then head to lunch, then hit the gym and if we have time the arcade," Jasper said.

I nodded but in my head I was thinking, _what are we? 15?_

I went to the coffee maker and was surprised to see a note addressed specifically to me. I poured some coffee into a mug, fixed it with some milk and sugar, and took the note with me as I sat at the kitchen table.

_-Edward-_

_Alice and your mother are dragging me for a day of shopping… I'm a little afraid but I suppose I'll survive.  
Text me if you want and I'll see you tonight… If I make it out of there alive that is._

_-Bella-_

I laughed. I was eighty percent sure that Bella would be out like a light the second she got home after shopping with my mother, and Alice and Rose were not easy on the shopping either.

"So, you guys ready to go or what? I really want to rip on some baseballs!" Emmett cried out in exasperation.

Jasper nodded and my dad responded with, "Ready when you all are."

I got up and grabbed an apple, biting into. "Let's hit the road."

**BELLA'S POV**

I groaned as I buried my face further into the mattress. Someone was sitting on the center of my back, straddling me so that their knees squeezed the sides of my rib cage, shaking me awake. It was incredibly annoying, definitely not the way I wanted to wake up, and I knew all to well who it was.

"Not now, Jasper. What if Alice saw?" I mumbled into the mattress, knowing full well that I would be heard.

Alice picked up the pillow that my head was hiding under and then slammed it back down on my delicate skull. I would have laughed if she wasn't suffocating me. She was sitting in just the right spot that her weight was crushing my chest, having moved from her previously painful spot. I just couldn't quite breathe right anymore.

"Can't… breathe… Alice," I gasped out as I tried to throw her off me and scramble from underneath her weight, though it really wasn't much. I managed to turn enough to cause her to fall off of me and she rolled on the side of my bed.

"Get your clumsy little self out of bed this instant missy," Alice ordered.

I stood. "Yes Mother," I replied sarcastically as I stretched.

She handed me a white tank top, a bright green hoodie that zipped up in the front with my name in silver beads on the back and _An Alice Original_ in silver stitching on the bottom band, denim Capri pants, and my black Puma sneakers. I groaned again.

"Really Alice? Shopping?"

"No shit Sherlock," she answered before she turned me and walked me toward the bathroom. She turned on the water in the shower and pointed. "In."

I complied, realizing I may have pissed the little pixie off.

"Now, we're going to spend a Girls' Day with my future husband's aunt, Rose's future mother-in-law, and the title likely refers to you as well. So, we are getting up now at five AM and—"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it right there!" I interrupted. "It's only five AM?!"

"SHHHHH! And yes, it's only five. We're going into Port Angeles, we have an appointment at the spa for eight and we were going to go for a nice little breakfast before that. If you object you will be hereby sentenced to the Girls' Day Purgatory."

I groaned. They made this up a few years ago when I realized that I could get myself out of Girls' Days using writing deadline excuses, which I'm sure Alice knew I was about to use. Basically, the purgatory was a nice way of saying Super Bella Barbie for a week. Girls' Days were always preferred to Bella Barbie.

"Fine," I grumbled out. "But I'm still not happy about the five AM part. That reminds me, you broke the rules." I let them make that rule in return for my own. No wake up calls before eight without my consent for shopping trips. That meant I had veto power today. Alice and Rose knew that I'd use it, too, but usually I just gave up because they always begged if I vetoed something.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get in the shower and get dressed. Do your hair into a messy pony and we'll do your hair and makeup at the salon to match whatever dress we get you. Oh, and wear your Wonder Bra." She threw said garment at me and pranced out of the room, back to her normal perky self.

I sighed and got into the shower after stripping out of my pajamas. The water was nice and warm. It relaxed away the sour feelings from my oh so rude awakening and helped me to finish waking up the way I should have woken up in the first place. What is it with people in this house and waking people up at unreasonable times for no good reason?

I washed myself with my unscented soap and washed my hair with my favorite strawberry shampoo and conditioner. I stood under the calming spray of what I would forever consider chocolate for the muscles for about five minutes longer before finally stepping out into the cool air that was only cool because of the air conditioning.

I dried off and threw my hair up into a messy bun as was specified by Alice. Getting dressed only took a few minutes and then I brushed my teeth and met Alice in the hallway. The both of us walked downstairs toward the kitchen, talking in whispers, where, to my surprise, Emmett was sitting at the counter eating a bowl of cereal.

"Well if it isn't the Tinkerbelle Twins," Emmett said. "Get it? Because you guys are wearing matching outfits, and Alice looks like a little pixie and your name is Bella? I'm hilarious!" He began laughing at his own joke.

Alice and I looked at each other. "Emmett and five-thirty AM don't mix well," I suggested.

"Emmett, five-thirty AM, and sugary cereals don't mix well," Alice concluded and I quickly agreed seeing Emmett's choice of breakfast food.

I grabbed a piece of stationary and Alice did the same. We had to right notes to the rest of the household, but considering no one had to write to Carlisle or Emmett, it was only Alice and I. We both had the same idea of writing little notes to our men, privately.

I smiled. Edward was my man. I loved being able to think that. It caused a small flutter within my chest, a feeling far different than the burning I felt this morning as I was suffocating, death by Alice. I wondered to write, leaning against the counter. I tapped the pen in my hand on my chin and absently rubbed the heart shaped locket that hung around my neck.

_-Edward-_

_Alice and your mother are dragging me for a day of shopping… I'm a little afraid but I suppose I'll survive.  
Text me if you want and I'll see you tonight… If I make it out of there alive that is._

_-Bella-_

It was the best I could write at five thirty in the morning. At least he could text me at some point in time. Alice had told me as we walked down here that this was Esme's idea and that she was apparently paying for it all. I would of course insist I pay for at least my things, but decided to settle for paying for lunch and some of the things that I myself chose to buy without Alice, Rose, or even Esme pushing the objects upon me.

"Okay, Rose and Esme are waiting for us in the car," Alice said, folding up her letter and writing _Jazz_ on the front in her bubbly scrawl. I did the same with mine, writing Edward's name on the outside and placing it beside the coffee maker where I knew he'd find it.

"Alright. I'm ready. Let's go," I finally answered. I went over to Emmett and hugged him goodbye. He really was my big goober of a brother, blood related or not. "See you guys later."

Alice and I went out to the car where Rose and Esme were in fact waiting in Rose's red BMW convertible. The top was down because it wasn't yet raining, though the skies were looking a little dark. Sure, the sun had just risen, but that was beside the point. It was always cloudy or raining in Forks.

And then we were off driving, all four of us in matching outfits, toward what I considered my living hell.

**EDWARD'S POV**

_Ding! _The ball came off of the metal bat Emmett was using. Apparently, the wooden bats just broke when he hit the ball, so he had no other choice. He'd already broken two bats today, I assumed that was a new record.

I was in the cage next to Emmett's, Jasper on the other side of me, and Dad on the other side of Emmett. It was pretty cool here. These weren't the average batting cages. There were targets on the far walls and if you hit the small, red circles, you got a few free rounds of balls. I had already hit two of the targets, having been one of the best batters in my high school days, Dad hit one, Jasper just barely got one, and Emmett, well, he just pounded a hole through the wall with his baseballs, which he was quite pleased with; the attendant, on the other hand, was not.

"So…" I started. _Ding! _"How are you and Mom?" I wasn't speaking too loudly, but Dad could still here me two cages away.

"She's good," Dad said. "Actually, the truth is, she's great. You wouldn't believe how happy she is with everything that's going on. I mean, Emmett and Jasper engaged, you finding such a great girlfriend, and her being—" he continued, but cut himself off.

"Her being what?" I asked.

"Her being…so busy doing the work that she loves, well she's thrilled," he said. I knew he was lying, but I didn't think Emmett and Jasper could tell. For all I knew, they were both in their own little batting worlds, the helmets blocking out all sounds other than the ball hitting the bat.

_Ding! _"Yeah, alright Dad," I said, not wanting to use the close connection that we had against him. We always seemed to be able to communicate telepathically. It was almost like being twins, with all of that twin telepathy mumbo jumbo, but it was father-son telepathy. He and I were close, and could always see what the other was thinking. "What's new with you? I'm sure we only scratched-" _Ding!_ "-the surface yesterday."

"Well, I had the most interesting case this week. This woman came in severely ill. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, none of the tests proving a positive diagnosis and no treatments were working. She ended up in a coma, and we had to decrease the pressure building in her skull by allowing excess fluids to drain. She woke up almost instantly, amazingly. And not long later, we realized that the problem was that she'd had an untreated break in a bone in her foot which released bone marrow into her blood stream. Fascinating," Dad said in a dream like state. (a/n: it was an episode on House. I only saw the very beginning and the very end, although it did go over a little differently, but don't hate me, okay?)

"You certainly are an incredible doctor. How did you miss the break?"

"She'd been on an expedition in northern Canada when she became fatally ill. She'd been examined before going, there were x-rays and everything, but apparently she doesn't like cold feet so her feet were not examined, the doctor having allowed her to keep her socks on. So, I hadn't known that until I got the x-rays sent over to the hospital and after she came out of her coma and I examined the x-rays, I sent her for some new ones and the broken bone in her foot came up. I couldn't believe the other doctor could have been so careless!"

I laughed. My father was certainly not one to be careless. In fact, he often cared too much, but that was why most patients loved him.

_Ding! _I hit another ball and it flew into the back wall, where all my rest went. I waited for the next to come, but the machine made a _pft _sound and I knew that my round was over. I wasn't interested in batting any longer. It was nearly one in the afternoon and my stomach was growling like a dog. "I'm done you guys," I said, taking off my helmet after I was sure I was out of the small field that a ball could be fed to by the machine if one just happened to still be in there. I left the small cage and walked behind Jasper's cage.

I banged on the fence and he turned to look at me, distracted, just as a ball came flying at him. I winced as it hit him square in the side. "MOTHER FUCKER!" he cried out and all the heads of every adult and child in this establishment turned to Jasper.

I hit a button outside the cage to turn off the machine and ran in to help my cousin and long time friend. "Jeez, Jasper, you okay?" I asked, helping him up from where he was kneeling on the ground.

He breathed uneasily, sucking in a few large breaths before nodding. "Yeah, I think so. Just hurt…a lot."

"Lift up your shirt," I said.

He did so, knowing I was checking for injuries. Considering the big circular bruise was just below his ribcage, I decided that he wouldn't have any broken ribs. It made sense he probably just had the wind knocked out of him and I would of probably shouted the same profanity had it happened to me. "You're lucky. If it'd been an inch or two higher, I'd be taping you up."

Jasper laughed, but winced. "Note to self, don't laugh."

"Come on, let's get you out of here and into a chair or something." He followed me out of the cage and over to the bench behind Emmett's cage. I was sure Emmett hadn't even noticed, but Dad was looking at me, silently asking for the verdict. I simply nodded, which in our telepathy world meant that Jasper was alright. "Jazz, man, I'm really sorry I distracted you."

He shook his head. "Nah, I know better than to turn away from the machine while it's pitching me a ball." He winced as he sat down, but seemed fine once he was settled. I heard Emmett and Dad's machines make that same _pfft _sound and knew that we were all done now and ready to head off to lunch. I held out my hand for Jasper and he took it, allowing me to pull up his whole weight from the bench. He was a heavier guy than you'd think he'd be.

"Where to?" I asked once Emmett and Dad joined Jasper and I outside the cages. I started walking toward the entrance.

Emmett turned to Dad and he turned to Jasper. "Um, how about Outback Steakhouse?"

"Alright! Now _that_'s a lunch!" Emmett exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

"Sounds good," I agreed. Who would argue with that?

"My treat," Dad said as we got out to Emmett's Jeep. We all instantly got in and took our seats, Dad and Emmett up front, Jasper and I in back. I took this time to check in on Bella.

_-Bella-_

_How are you holding up there?_

_-Edward-_

**BELLA'S POV**

Have you ever had an incredible body massage, then an orgasmic foot massage that led to a pedicure, and an all too satisfying hand massage while they gave you a manicure? Has that incredibly pleasurable stupor that it put you in give your best friends the opening they needed to get you into a locked room for a Brazilian?

"No! No, no, no, and might I repeat…No!!!" I shouted as they held me on the table on top of the crinkly white paper.

"Oh come on, Bella. We've both been going this and the guys love it. Give it a try!" Rose reasoned, but I continued to fight their hold.

"I don't care. Besides, I really don't want to know about what your fiancés love about having sex with you!"

Esme was leaning against the wall laughing and I realized immediately that I was talking about her son and nephew. She laughed even harder when my eyes bugged out of my head. Jeez. This was my boyfriend's mother in the room with me while my friends tried to convince me to get a Brazilian on the off-chance that I had sex with her son. I'm sure she loved hearing that.

"Oh, please Bella. As if I don't know that Edward has a healthy sex-life. If he didn't, I'd be worried. I get Brazilians for Carlisle." Okay, more than I think I wanted to know about Esme. At this point I had stopped fighting off the girls and was just looking at Esme with my jaw dropped. "In fact, I'm getting one in the other room as soon as Alice and Rose get you to settle down."

I just stared, mouth agape, at the woman who I would have never pegged to start talking about what she did to make her husband…um…happy.

"Yes, Bella, I'm actually telling you about my sex-life and giving you permission to do as you and Edward please. Do you honestly think I'm one of those snooty society women who cares more about her next fund-raiser than having a wonderful marriage with the man she loves?"

"No, no, of course not. It's just, I hardly even talk about that stuff with Rose and Alice," I said, looking to the both of them. They were both looking just as surprised as I was at Esme's admissions. "I honestly wasn't thinking about talking to my boyfriend's mom about it."

"Or my fiancé's," Rose added.

"Or my fiancé's aunt," Alice finished.

Esme laughed again and then smiled at all three of us. "I have no problem with sharing such information among three girls that I know I can trust. Besides, you stopped trying to get free, didn't you?" and then she turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

I turned to Alice and Rose. "Ha! That's _your _future mother-in-law Rose."

She turned to me with a pale face, but soon both her color, along with Alice's, returned as they grinned devilishly. They both bolted from the room and shut the door behind them. I jumped up from the cushioned table and sprinted to the door and pressing as hard as I could on it to get through, but it wouldn't budge. I could here my two 'best friends' on the other side of the door, laughing and high fiving as they held me in.

"Fine! Have it your way!" I grumbled and sat down on the paper. A Hispanic woman entered the room a few minutes later.

"Okay sweetie, pants, underwear, off." There was a hint of a Spanish accent in her English, but her speech was perfectly clear. She was rather beautiful too. She had pitch black hair with a light shine that was pin straight. Her skin was perfectly tanned and her face perfectly put together, not one bit of it uneven. Her eyes were a dark dark brown and her lips were a plump red. Her eyelashes were really long. She had a really nice body, even covered with a black apron. I envied her.

I did as I was instructed and went back onto the table, nervous. I wasn't really one for letting anyone else look at me _down there_. I'd only been with one man, and only come close to being with one other man. Alice and Rose had seen, but there was honestly no one else except for my parents when I was a baby and they had to change my diaper and my gynecologist.

"You've never done this before, have you?" she asked.

"Nope," I said, uncomfortable.

"Alright, well my name is Carmen, and don't worry. It's a little painful, but I'm sure you've waxed your eyebrows and upper lip before, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's just a little bit worse, but at least you'll already be prepared."

And then it started. It was incredibly painful. A little bit didn't quite cover the difference here. I tried to keep myself quite as Carmen did what I was paying her to do, but I really couldn't do so for long. I hoped Alice and Rose knew that they were never going to get me to do this ever again for as long as I lived and that if Edward got to see this soon and he liked it, that he knew it was a one shot deal.

After she was done, she went to work waxing my legs, then my eyebrows and lip. That was heaven compared to the Brazilian, and I would make sure that Alice and Rose knew that.

When I opened up my cell phone as we left the spa to go to lunch, there was a text message from Edward that I'd received about an hour ago.

_-Bella-_

_How are you holding up there?_

_-Edward-_

I giggled as I walked, well sort of waddled, with Alice, Rose, and Esme out of the spa and to the car. We were going to drive over to a nice restaurant that we all loved called Bella Italia and then we were going to the mall for some shopping.

_-Edward-_

_Let's just say that if you ever see  
what they did to me, you'd better like it._

_-Bella-_

I got into the BMW in back with Alice while Rose and Esme sat up front and we sped off toward the cute little Italian restaurant. We'd found it a few months ago on one of Alice's shopping expeditions that I was forced on because I really didn't want to eat in the food court that time. Alice and Rose allowed me to choose the restaurant and when I came across this one I just knew that it would be great.

We arrived at Bella Italia and greeted Jessica, the hostess, before she led us to our table. Eric, our usual waiter, served us, taking a slightly disturbing interest in Esme, but I suppose I couldn't blame him considering she was just as gorgeous as Rose and Alice. We all ordered our usual, Esme getting the mushroom ravioli, just like I did, and sodas. If we weren't going to be shopping later, we would have gotten a bottle of wine. Alice, though, didn't like getting SUIs…shopping under the influence.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket and, out of politeness, I excused myself from the table to read the text message.

_-Bella-_

_Well then I guess I can't wait to see_

_-Edward-_

I laughed and replied quickly.

_-Edward-_

_If only you knew_

_-Bella-_

I returned to the table and resumed eating.

"So, we are all going out tonight for dinner and a movie," Alice announced to the table.

"Didn't we just do that on Friday?" I asked.

"Four of us did, four of us didn't," Alice answered. "So, we're all going to go to the Bar & Grill that's just outside of Forks and then to the movie theater. I'm not sure what movie we'll see, but we'll all just agree when we get there. I already checked movie times and decided that if we get there by eight thirty, it leaves us enough time to pick any of the available movies without missing the start."

Alice, always the planner. "I'm in," Rose said.

"I think that will be quite nice," Esme agreed.

"It's not like I have a choice," I muttered as I nodded and dug back into my delicious lunch.

I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket again, but decided I'd reply when we were finished eating.

"This is absolutely scrumptious, Bella. You certainly know what you're talking about when it comes to food, don't you…" Esme commented and I laughed.

Swallowing the bite of pasta in my mouth, I answered, "I like to think so, but maybe I'm just lucky and pick all the right things."

"Puhlease, you're only lucky if you manage to stumble over your own feet no more than twelve times in the day," Rose interjected.

Alice laughed. "Really. It's like we need Bella-Proof stairs or something just to keep you five hundredths of a percent safer."

I stuck my tongue out at them, being the mature woman that I am, and they stuck their tongues out back at me. Esme laughed and threw her cloth napkin onto her empty pasta plate. She grabbed her soda and took a few sips, before setting it back down, a serious expression coming onto her face.

"You know, I don't think I could have picked better girls for my sons," Esme said.

"What about your nephew?" Alice asked, feeling left out as I grinned at the compliment.

"Jasper is my son, whether my sister-in-law is biologically his mother or not," Esme replied.

I could see Alice smile. "Jasper definitely talks more about you than his own mother. I have yet to even meet the woman."

Esme laughed at that. "I wouldn't get too excited about that. Not to be rude, but she isn't the sweetest sugar cube in the box."

"I like that analogy," I said suddenly. "You mind if I use that in a book?"

Esme smiled. "That would be lovely."

"Thanks."

Lunch soon finished and Esme pulled out her wallet, but I stopped her and placed my own card with the receipt. "Please, you're paying for so much else, allow me to handle this."

"I insist, though."

I signed the receipt and shook my head. "No, no. I've got this." I once again rubbed the locket of my necklace absently. "You've already given me enough."

**EDWARD'S POV**

_-Edward-_

_Let's just say that if you ever see  
what they did to me, you'd better like it._

_-Bella-_

I was unsure of whether I was glad I'd left my cell phone in the car or not. Granted, I was glad that Emmett didn't see my reaction, but I wish I could have answered sooner. I could only imagine what they'd done to her. Tattoo? Probably not, but that certainly sounded pretty…well…you know. A piercing? I was pretty sure Bella would never do anything other than an ear piercing. I wasn't going to keep guessing, knowing that my imagination may just get the better of me.

_-Bella-_

_Well then I guess I can't wait to see_

_-Edward-_

My reply came quickly.

_-Edward-_

_If only you knew_

_-Bella-_

I grinned and buckled myself into the Jeep. "What's with the smiling, Edward? Dirty text messaging with Bella?" Emmett teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Jealous you aren't getting any dirty texts from Rose?" I shot back at him. He turned to the road before him and just started driving.

_-Bella-_

_You'll just have to show me later then_

_-Edward-_

We drove to the gym and I knew it wouldn't be any normal day here when Emmett and Jasper started putting on harnesses. Dad and I looked at each other, but soon put on harnesses as well. We went into the rock climbing area and picked one of the harder walls.

"I'll belay, Jasper you can climb, and Edward you need to ground me," Emmett said immediately. "Dad, I need you to watch Jasper and make sure that if her looks like he's slipping, you give me fair warning so that I can tighten up."

"Okay," all three of us answered. Jasper and Emmett connected themselves to the rope that hung from a pulley attached to the ceiling. When Jasper got onto the wall, I grabbed onto the back of Emmett's harness, though I doubted he needed me to ground him.

Jasper started climbing while we all conversed. We talked about baseball for a little while, then about the Olympics that would be this year at the end of the summer. A short conversation about Emmett's gym and Jasper's new practice. There was a little bit of talk about the girls and how much Dad could tell Esme loved them and how much he was beginning to love them too. There was also a little talk about Bella's injuries back all those years and how much he enjoyed seeing her, even though the situation that allowed her the visit was hardly terrific.

Emmett told me about all her spastic adventures since he'd first met her and how much he enjoyed being her protector, to which I laughed and told him, "Anything that makes you feel manlier is enjoyable to you." His response was to punch me in the shoulder and make Jasper almost fall off the wall. I traded with Jasper and while I climbed, Jasper told us all a little more about Alice, though Emmett was concentrating on me. I'm sure he was just waiting for me to slip so he could let go of the rope as punishment for what I'd said. I didn't give him the pleasure. I was, however, nervous as he lowered me back to the ground, somehow doing so safely.

Dad went up next and Jasper and I both grounded him, while Dad talked more about how Chicago had been since Emmett had left. I knew just about everything he'd told us about, though I missed a lot too while I focused on my studies.

When Emmett went up, Jasper belayed and Dad and I grounded Jasper. We weren't sure if it'd be enough, but Emmett managed to stay on the wall the whole time and then climbed back down too, probably afraid of making the three of us go flying under his weight.

When we finished, nearly two hours had passed. It was still only four thirty though and apparently, we were meeting the girls at seven. I wanted to go home and change and shower, of course, and so did the rest of the guys, but for now, we would be going to the arcade per Emmett's request.

**BELLA'S POV**

The reply I had gotten from Edward about me having to show him later was unfortunately seen by all the rest of the girls. Thus, our shopping plans were rearranged. Apparently, Alice had already decided where we were going, but changed the order of priority. So, quite obviously, the first place we went was Victoria's Secret where Alice decided I had no veto power. I decided that I would just go to the book store and get me whatever the hell they wanted, because I really wasn't going to argue. I _really_ wanted Edward and I wanted to be sexy for him. This story screamed sexy and I certainly didn't.

I went to the bookstore and smiled when I saw my books covering a whole table. I picked one up and looked at the back cover where a picture of me was. It was actually a nice picture. Alice had insisted I let her dress me and do my makeup. Rose insisted I let her do my hair. I was in a nice black blouse with princess sleeves and slacks. The black blouse had a much lower V-neckline than I would have usually gone for and the bow only drew more attention to my breasts, but it looked pretty damn good on the back cover of my book. My hair was voluminous and sleek, not pin-straight, but not wavy either, just loose. My make up was natural but accentuated my features perfectly. The shoes I had picked and they were strappy black heels that I managed to not fall in.

The director had wanted the picture to have sex appeal, which I suppose was the right idea because I was writing sexy romance novels. So, I was sitting up against a white wall on a window ledge with my book in hand, glasses hanging from my fingers, one leg extending out while the other was bent so that my foot rested just at my knee of the other leg. It's sexy, but it doesn't scream it. That's why I liked the picture so much.

Then, of course, they decided to put a poster of the picture up behind the table on an easel, and that I wasn't thrilled with. I was glad I didn't look like that right now, because there were a number of women with that book in hand at the moment and I didn't feel like talking to any of them. Especially because the rumor was that there was a director interested in having my book written into a screenplay and having me star in it. Yeah right, like that would happen. The me starring in it part, that is. He could make it a screenplay if he wanted. I wrote as something that I looked to do, and published it for the enjoyment of others.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I knew it was Alice calling. I didn't answer, but simply walked back over to Victoria's Secret where all three women were standing there with a number of bags each. Alice handed me two large bags from the ground. I assumed they were mine, but decided not to look and see what was inside as we went to the next store where Alice said we would start looking for outfits for tonight. I did, however, have an idea for what I'd like to wear, to which Alice quickly agreed.

After a few hours and an endless number of stores, outfits, and dressing rooms, we'd picked out our clothing for tonight. Rose then led us to a salon where she insisted we get our hair styled and make up done. We would also be able to change there. I didn't fight them, because they knew exactly how to do this, even better than I did, so I let them tell the stylist and makeup artist what to do.

Afterward, Alice thrust into a dressing room where I was to put on specific items. She told me that the Wonder Bra would stay on, just as she'd told me before, and that I'd be wearing the outfit and underwear and shoes she'd set out. I did as I was told, careful not to mess with my hair or makeup, and then stepped out.

"Excellent," Alice and Rose said in unison with their wonderful, devilish grins that I tended to despise so much. They pulled out my cell phone and handed it to me. Looking the way I did when I saw myself in the mirror, I was feeling beyond bold and immediately texted Edward.

**EDWARD'S POV**

"I WIN!" I shouted. "In your face, Em!"

"Yeah, whatever. It's only Pac Man," he grumbled.

"You're just a sore loser," I said, though I realized I was acting no better than a seven year old.

"Alright boys, it's best if we get going now," Dad told us.

"We still need to get home, shower, and then go to _Jane & Alec's_," Jasper explained.

I nodded, agreeing with him, though I wasn't quite sure how long it'd take to get there from the house.

"I love that place," Emmett added his own comment.

The drive home was longer than I thought it'd be. I was pretty sure that I was just a little anxious to see Bella, considering I hadn't laid eyes on her since last night. It was strange, feeling so crazy without being around her when I'd hardly known this woman for a week. In fact, I believe we'd only met just a week and a day ago. Still, in the little time I'd spent with her, I'd been growing close to her quickly. I was pretty sure that the second I shook her hand I was already too close to her.

I was sufficiently surprised when I learned she'd returned that feeling of, well, whatever it was I was feeling when she made the first move and kissed me. Whenever I thought of her, my mind often went back to that Sunday night on the beach when we sat on the blanket, the sun setting, and she told me of how she'd never waste her time dating unless she felt that gravitational pull like Jacob did. I knew I was feeling it, and I wondered if this was just some sort of fling, or if she was really feeling that way too.

I hoped it was the latter.

Upon arriving home, I hurried to my room and got into the shower. We hadn't showered after our rock climbing expedition, and it was a lot harder to do than you'd think. I used warm water, because after all it was summer and burning hot was just a little much at the moment. The water was just a little cooler than my body temp so it was more than comfortable. Before I stepped into the shower, I plugged my iPod into my iHome and put on some soft music.

I allowed my thoughts to wander to random things, and they brought me to Bella at ever turn. I wondered what she'd be wearing, how she'd do her hair and makeup, and what mood she'd be in for this evening. I wondered what movie she'd choose to watch and if she'd be smiling, laughing, crying, jumping, or screaming as we watched the film. I wondered if we'd hold hands and kiss during the movie, if she'd rest her head on my shoulder or if she'd allow me to kiss her neck throughout. I just wondered what tonight would be like, because, and this sentence hit me, it'd basically be our first date as a couple. Sure, we wouldn't be alone, but it would still be dinner and a movie, like a quadruple date.

I chuckled at the thought as I dried myself and went out into my room in my towel, still listening to the music as it helped me picture what I'd wear tonight. Where was Alice when you needed her?

I settled on a red polo with faded, comfortable jeans, and, of course, Steve Maddens. I towel dried my hair and tamed it to the best of my ability, which in other words meant it was all over the place and I just gave up. I grabbed my BlackBerry and clipped it into its holster on my jeans. The second I did so, it vibrated.

_-Edward-_

_When you see what I look like tonight  
you'll definitely want to see what they did to me_

_-Bella-_

Okay, so the subject I'd finally managed to keep my mind off returned, front and center and I pushed to keep it in the back of my mind, but that hardly worked.

I only had half an hour to get to _Jane & Alec's _and it would take me at least twenty five minutes following the speed limit. Because I had no idea where I was going, I would be going at the recommended speeds. It was decided that we'd all take our own cars. I got into my Volvo; Emmett and Dad would be in the Jeep (Emmett would be going with Rose in her BMW so Dad could have the Jeep), and Jasper in his Mercedes. This was our choice because we all wanted sometime with our ladies by ourselves.

I looked at the directions that Jasper had handed to me and followed them strictly, paying close attention to everything I passed and memorizing the way. Apparently, this was a popular hang out for the residents of our household. Jasper said his office was just a ten minute walk from this bar and grill and that he often ate there when he had the time. I asked him why he didn't have to work this weekend and he said he rescheduled today's sessions into later this week or for doubles next weekend so I wouldn't see much of him for the next week.

It took a while to get there, and I arrived before any of the other guys. They were all a little late and I offered to meet the girls there and keep them busy while the rest of the Cullen boys and the Hale boy got here.

When the red BMW convertible pulled up, I could vaguely hear the song _So What_ by P!nk blasting through the stereo. No one got out before the car shut off and they pulled into a parking space a few spaces away from me. They got out and walked toward me where I was leaning against my Volvo.

I caught sight of my mother first. She looked lovely, as always, in a deep purple silk textured short-sleeve blouse and black gaucho pants that billowed as she walked toward me. She had on black ballet flats which also had purple beads decorating them. Her hair was up half up, a purple clip holding it back.

Then came Rosalie. She was walking toward me in a black zip up hoodie top with short sleeves and a metallic pink and silver design all over it. She had on denim short shorts and Silver gladiator sandals that wrapped up her legs all the way to her knees. Her hair was styled similarly to my mothers, but much looser and thicker and nicer. Her makeup was minimal, but the bright pink lips were different from the usual red.

Next I saw Alice, dressed in a Bonnie Jean Retro dress in black and green, wearing black boots with heels that would give Jasper's lower back a break from all the bending over. Her hair was straight and spiked, her usual look but to a more defined extent. Her make up was a lot stronger, but definitely fit her perfectly.

And then I saw Bella. _My_ Bella. She was more than her daily goddess self this evening. She had a dark blue blouse with a shawl collar that led into a plunging deep V-neckline, ending in a bow. There were ruched princess sleeves and it fit tightly to her body. Her cleavage was extremely sexy and I pried my eyes away reluctantly to examine the rest of her. She had on a denim micro mini and deep blue strappy heels that made her legs look endless. Her hair was neither straight nor wavy nor curled, but just down and loose with a light sparkle to it. Her eyes were my favorite deep brown that I adored so much and lined with a navy blue that made them pop even more. The rest of her makeup looked natural, and I don't think she could have appeared any sexier.

"Damn, I'm in trouble," I muttered as she reached me. "You look…ravishing tonight, Bella. All of you look incredible."

I was still gaping Bella while the girls giggled. I was too entranced by her appearance to be embarrassed. She walked until her body was completely against mine and I was sandwiched between the Volvo and the enticing woman that was my girlfriend.

Her small arms wrapped around my neck as she leaned her face toward mine. Her lips were brushing my own as she purred the words, "You like?"

I didn't answer. I simply wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her closer to me even though that was hardly possible, and pushing my lips against hers. She smiled and kissed me back, and I completely disregarded the fact that my mother, my future sister-in-law, and my cousin-to-be were all watching. I could feel Bella smiling against my own lips as Alice cleared her throat.

I knew we were both blushing when her lips regrettably left mine. "I love it," I finally responded to her question. "I have to say that the outfit looks vaguely familiar though." Alice pulled a book out from behind her back and I recognized it as Bella's. "Why do you have one of Bella's books, Alice?"

She laughed. "Because, you said her look appears familiar and we wanted you to Bella's inspiration."

She flipped the book to the back and there was a large picture of Bella sitting on a window sill in an all black outfit that had her skin positively glowing. The blouse was quite similar, but I liked this one far better. The skirt was definitely sexier than the black pants and the shoes were almost identical other than the color and the sparkle of her current ones. Her hair was the same and her make up was a little different. She looked completely gorgeous and I wondered why in the world I was suddenly a little jealous that I wasn't the only one in the world seeing my Bella looking that sexy.

"Very nice," I commented, tightening my hold on the angel that remained in my arms.

I turned to my mother. "So, how are you?" I asked pointedly and I could see she knew that she was caught. I didn't know how anyone else missed this. The woman was glowing brighter than a glow stick, and that sure as heck ain't easy.

**BELLA'S POV**

Edward's reaction was definitely what I was hoping for. I knew I was being a tease with the last text message and that I was only encouraging him to ravish me when I purred my question into his ear, but I couldn't help it. He gave me such an air of confidence that just made me a little wild. And I liked it.

The kiss was incredible, and yet it finished all too soon as I was reminded we had an audience.

When Edward asked his mother how she was, the oddest expression crossed her face and her answer was a little off. "We're fine, Edward."

I wondered why she said we when Edward was asking about her. Surely he already knew how his father was. I looked at Esme and tried to figure it out and it didn't take me long, but I kept quiet, the smile on my lips the only clue as to my revelation. One of Edward's hands was resting on my waist and gave it a squeeze. He looked down at me and when he saw my expression, he smiled back at me. I was pretty sure he knew I'd guessed.

"Where's my big lug of a fiancé?" Rose asked suddenly. It was then that I realized three men were missing at the moment.

"They'll be here soon. They were running a little late and since I was ready, I offered to come and meet you guys," Edward answered. "Shall we go in?"

"I've got to go make sure we get our booth!" Alice exclaimed.

"Are you sure there'll be enough room, Ally?" I asked.

"I'll ask Alec for two more chairs if we need more space."

I nodded. We were good friends with Alec and Jane and if we ever needed anything, it was immediately ours. We walked inside and Felix led us to our booth. Upon seeing it, I figured we could fit if we squished together. A thought popped into my head that consisted of me sitting on Edward's lap, but I dispelled that idea. On the other hand, I was more than willing to do that, at least until our dinner came.

We scooted into the circular booth, Edward and I in the center, Esme next to Edward, Rose next to me, and Alice next to Rose. Edward's arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me against his side to which I could see Alice and Rose silently giggling. Esme seemed clueless, but she was obviously seeing all out of the corner of her eye as all mothers did, while she looked at the menu that was in the center of the table. The music wasn't very loud at the moment, but it would get a little louder in a while when tonight's band appeared.

"Sweet, we've got our favorite table," I heard from an all too familiar voice. "Scoot Tinkerbelle."

I looked up to see Alice sticking her tongue out at Emmett as she stood up and allowed him into the both.

"Come on, sweetie, I think you're a damn hot Tinkerbelle," Jasper whispered into her ear, but we all heard. I laughed aloud, but tried to muffle it in Edward's shoulder.

"Hey babe," Emmett said to Rose as he pulled her up onto his lap. I sighed at the sight, wanting to have been the one to do that with Edward. I was surprised when I felt myself being lifting from the red cushion, my seat replaced with toned, jean covered legs.

"This is _much_ better," Edward whispered into my ear. His arms wrapped around me and wrested in my lap, his head resting on my shoulder. I heard Esme giggle and out of the corner of my eye I saw Carlisle lifting her into his lap. I awed audibly.

"Your parents are too cute," I mentioned to Edward, turning so that I was sitting on only one of his legs, my legs extending out to where I was sitting in the booth. I put one behind his neck and clasped my hands together.

"I suppose they are," he said, leaning in and placing one short kiss into my neck. I looked into his eyes and smiled at the beautiful emeralds that stared back into mine. "But you definitely are amazing tonight."

"Thank you. When I saw the picture on my book in the store, I knew I just had to recreate the outfit. I wasn't sure if you'd like it. Now, I'm definitely glad I did," I answered honestly.

He grinned crookedly and the arms that were around my waist pulled me tighter to him. It seemed already that we were inseparable when we were together, and when we were apart, we wished we weren't. I was lost in my own little world of Edward and me when Edward nudged me.

"Bella," he whispered in my ear, his breath on my skin causing me to shiver. "The waiter wants to know what you'll have to drink." He chuckled, the vibration causing me to shiver once again. I wasn't in the mood for alcohol. I had the feeling I needed to be fully aware of my actions when Edward was around.

"I'll have a Screw Driver, Sprite instead of alcohol though, thanks," I said to Demitri.

"Whatever you want Bella," he said with a laugh as he turned to Esme and Carlisle. "And you two will be having…"

"I'll have a beer," Carlisle said, but Esme shot him a look and immediately he changed his request. "I mean I'll have some caffeine free coke."

I laughed. So it's the Whatever-I-Can't-Have-You-Can't-Have thing.

"Lemonade please," Esme requested sweetly before placing a chaste kiss on Carlisle's cheek.

"When do you think they'll tell everyone?" I whispered into Edward's ear. He shrugged.

"Probably tonight considering they'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

I nodded and leaned my head onto Edward's shoulder. His polo was made of a really soft material and it felt nice against my skin, but what was really great was how well I could smell him from where my head lay. He had this incredibly mouth-watering smell that had me reeling whenever I was too close.

Conversation fell easily into place and we all discussed our days, the girls skipping over certain parts as surprises for our men. I was pretty sure that all of them would be surprising their men tonight, I on the other hand would probably just chill with Edward in the living tonight because I was pretty positive we weren't that far into our relationship just yet.

Our drinks arrived and I smiled when I saw Edward had gotten a Shirley Temple. When I asked him, he said, "I'm comfortable enough with my masculinity to get this sort of drink." I practically spit out my orange-juice/Sprite mixture upon hearing such an answer.

We ordered three variety platters for the table, knowing that each was supposed to suffice a family of three or four, but with Emmett here, he would probably eat an entire one for himself. I preferred the mozzarella sticks and the chicken fingers, while Edward preferred the Buffalo wings and Tostitos chips. Overall, dinner was going well, when Carlisle and Esme decided to make their announcement.

"So, as Bella and Edward have very obviously figured out, which by the way you two aren't as quiet as you think you are, Esme and I have something we need to tell you all," Carlisle began.

Esme continued. "I'm pregnant."

Silence befell Jasper and Emmett while Alice, Rosalie, Edward, and I congratulated them.

"I knew it!" Alice exclaimed. "I just didn't find it my place to ask and Jasper seemed pretty clueless."

"Same here," Rosalie said. "Though in my case, Emmett was the clueless one."

I laughed. "I didn't figure it out until Edward asked you how you were doing."

"You're shitting me…" Emmett muttered. Rose laughed at that.

"You're going to be a big brother Emmett," she told him. Then she glanced quickly at Edward before kissing the big idiot. "Again!"

"Hmmm, another cousin," Jasper murmured softly before kissing Alice chastely. "How far along are you?"

"Only a month, not far at all," Esme answered.

"My sister will be excited," Carlisle said.

"Yeah, mom always did love spoiling her nephews," Jasper replied with a laugh. I'd heard that his mother was indeed one to spoil her nephews and her son, though love wasn't something she cared to show either. I think she was the reason that Jasper went into psychiatry; he spent most of his childhood trying to understand the workings of his mother.

I raised my glass, as did Edward whose lap I was still sitting on. "To family," Edward started.

"To best friends," I continued.

"To brothers," Emmett added.

"And cousins," Jasper inputted.

"To parents," Alice inserted.

"To future in-laws," Rose put in.

"To children," Esme continued.

"And to marriage," Carlisle stated.

"To love," Edward said.

"And to the types of bonds that never end," I finished.

And everyone's glasses came together in the center of the table.

**EDWARD'S POV**

After the lovely dinner, we all left in our separate cars. I opened the door to the passenger seat of my Volvo and Bella took her rightful place. I kissed her quickly on the lips before shutting the door and running around to the driver's side.

The ride to the movie theater was incredible torture. I was so tempted to just head back to the house, the image of her in that outfit never leaving my mind, even though I tried to keep my field of vision limited to the road ahead of me. I could feel the electricity that flowed between us running wild in the confined space of the car.

When we'd reached the theater, I parked and immediately turned to her and pulled her face to mine, crashing my lips into hers and kissing her more passionately than I'd ever thought I could. Her tongue slid across my bottom lips and I opened my mouth, allowing her entrance. Hers swept across the tops of my front teeth and soon my own tongue brushed against hers.

I think I preferred this taste to anything that was on the desert menu this past evening.

Unfortunately, my older brother felt the need to disrupt our wonderful moment.

"Would you two quit fishing for tonsils and come inside the theater already? We're trying to pick a movie!" he shouted, his voice hardly muffled through the materials of my car.

I groaned, but unlocked the doors regardless. I went over to Bella's side of the car where she had already opened her door, much to my dismay. I held my hand out to her and she took it gratefully, trying to fix her makeup without a mirror. I chuckled.

"Bella, you look beautiful," I told her. I stopped her and turned her toward me, taking my free hand and wiping away the small bit of smudged lipstick.

She giggled and reached up, wiping my lips with her own finger. "That shade looks good on you there Cullen."

"Come on, you. Let's get inside before they send Emmett to carry us in."

We walked hand in hand through the lot and then into the theater. Apparently, because of our tardiness, we had no say in the decision to see the horror movie.

I didn't mind though, thinking that Bella would be all over me throughout the movie.

Of course, I was wrong. The woman hardly even flinched.

"I've seen this before," she whispered into my ear as I jumped at the sudden, loud explosion. I was scared, but sudden loud noises were extremely startling to people with ears as attuned to their surroundings as mine were.

When the movie ended, Bella and I ventured back to my Volvo. The ride home consisted of Bella and me holding hands and some classical music playing. I could feel Bella's grip slacken not long into the ride and her breathing was soft, calm, and even. One look at her and it was obvious she was asleep.

This was the purest angel I'd ever seen, even more angelic as she slept. I wished I had a camera so that I could capture this image forever, but I supposed my memory and its injustice to her beauty would have to suffice.

All the other cars got home before we did and lights were on in three rooms and the front hall. I was pretty sure none of them wanted to be disturbed.

I didn't want to disturb Bella from her mollified sleep either, so I got out of my side of the car and shut the door softly and walked to the other side. I opened the door slowly and gingerly picked up Bella in the silent night. Once she was safely cradled in my arms, I closed her door as quietly as possible. I carried her with me into the house and turned to lock the door behind me, which was not an easy task with my girlfriend in my arms.

I walked up the steps, stopping for a moment every time one creaked beneath our weight, hoping that it wouldn't wake my angel. By the time I had reached her room, her hands were locked tightly onto the material of my shirt and her head was resting comfortably on my shoulder.

I laid her to rest on the covers of her bed, but as I tried to stand, her vice grip on my shirt kept me in place.

"Bella?" I whispered softly as I tried to remove her hands. "Bella, darling?"

A small "Hmm?" came from her.

"Bella, you have to let go," I told her softly.

"No, stay," she muttered.

"As you wish," I answered and laid down beside her. Upon hearing those words, she released my shirt and snuggled into my chest as I draped one of my arms over her waist. I kicked off my shoes and they fell to the ground a bit loudly, but Bella just hummed for a moment as she fell into a deeper sleep.

Consciousness didn't keep a hold on me for much longer either.


	11. Morning Makeouts & Sexy Vampires

**a/n: You all know you're jealous that your boyfriends won't read twilight for you adn that none of them look like Emmett. Okay, so i know a lot of you are dying for a down and dirty Bella/Edward lemon and don't worry because I'll get you those soon, but first this is still a romance and there is actually a story to it and they've only known each other for a week so just relax the time will come.**

**a/n number 2: I'm starting to freak out a little bit right now because something is up with my AIM and i'm afraid my ex boyfriend from hell hacked it again and I'm not even kidding cuz this is basically what happened last time. So please, if anyone else out there is having a couple malfunctions, please tell my to ease my crazy nerves.**

**a/n number 3: YAY OBAMA!!!!!**

**a/n number 4: So this beginning is for those of you who requested this scene. No, it's not a lemon… Sorry, those are coming soon! If it doesn't turn out the way you'd like, then I'm sorry, but it's my story so :P**

**BELLA'S POV**

Something warm was draped across the exposed skin of my hip. I could hear the steady breathing of someone beside me. I could feel and smell their delicious breath blowing across my face.

I opened my eyes to the face of my god. His bronze hair was more mussed than usual, falling along the pillow his head lay upon, and his beautiful green emeralds hidden from my sight. His pink lips were parted slightly as he breathed and they begged for a kiss.

I denied myself such a pleasure and carefully slipped my body from beneath his arm, tiptoeing to the bathroom while hoping I wouldn't trip and wake Edward when I fell. Reaching the bathroom sink, I found myself successful in remaining vertical. I made quickly to brush my teeth and replace my morning breath with the minty Colgate freshness.

Looking in the mirror, I was surprised to see my hair still in tact, almost identical to its appearance the past evening, and my makeup left without smudging.

I pulled off my shoes quietly, not understanding how I had managed to get a good night's sleep with them still on, and stumbled back to the bed, sliding effortlessly back into Edward's grasp to watch him rest.

His arm pulled me closer to him and his head rested into my neck. I heard him sigh contentedly and I made that same noise of my own. I snuggled into his chest, feeling so perfectly comfortable.

It was strange. I'd never really been quite so open with anyone.

Well, that wasn't true. There was one other person.

I just tried my hardest to forget him.

It was weird and unfair, the hold Jacob Black still had on my heart. I guess we were just even too close as friends and lovers for that bond to be entirely severed when one of us didn't have anything to move on for. I could most easily describe it as a ribbon. Torn in half, yet still connected by a few threads. His half of the ribbon was being pulled in the opposite direction, but mine was merely the ribbon, no one pulling it away.

I wondered, though, if my half of the ribbon would finally be pulled away completely… If Edward would be able to separate me from Jacob, once and for all.

Most likely, an incredible man such as Edward would easily be able to, but would he want to?

Alice, Rosalie, and Esme had all ended up falling in love with, and have such a love reciprocated, and marrying the man that gave them their lockets, but would I?

Could I fall in love with Edward? And could he fall in love with me? The first part I knew was very possible. The second, I wasn't so sure of.

I could feel Edward stirring and he moved his head up onto my shoulder. However, his breathing remained even and his eyes remained shut, so I assumed it was just a momentary lapse in his sleep.

**EDWARD'S POV**

_Laying in a meadow, surrounded by wildflowers, my angel was._

_Her brown hair and deep earthy eyes were forever entrancing._

_I watched her glorious lips move as she spoke to me._

"_Edward, this place is amazing," she said to me as she looked at the nature we lay in._

_I chuckled. "Yes, my love, and it is all for you."_

"_You're too much," she told me._

_I shook my head in response. "No. For you? I am not nearly enough."_

_I laid beside her and rested my head on her shoulder after giving her neck a brief kiss. "Edward, I beg to differ. I'm less than worthy of all you give me."_

"_But this isn't true, Bella, Love. No, I am a mere mortal kneeling at the feet of your angelic presence."_

_I knew she was blushing and I looked up to see her beautiful face._

Bella was blushing as I opened my eyes from my dream that very obviously hadn't ended yet. Of course, the scenery was different, but the positions we lay in seemed very much the same. Her hair and makeup were different, and she no longer wore simple clothing, but those that she had on last night. I was no longer in what I'd been wearing, but also my outfit from the previous evening. She giggled as she stared at the ceiling.

"What is so funny?" I asked teasingly as I pulled her closer yet.

She looked down at me and her stellar eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry Edward, did I wake you?"

I kissed her shoulder through the material of her shirt. "No, no, I believe I'm still dreaming."

She giggled again and apologized. "I'm sorry you think that this is a dream, but I believe we're both very much awake."

"Well then, that brings me back to my question," I said, moving so I was on top of her, my weight supported on my arms, trapping her beneath me. "What was so funny?" I moved my face so it was near hers, our foreheads touching, and I could hear her breathing speed up and feel her heartbeat slamming against her ribcage, sending sensations into mine.

"You," she whispered quietly.

My lips neared hers even more until they were just barely brushing. "And what about me?" I asked, my voice a whisper as well.

"Someday, I'll tell you." And then her lips were on mine. It was like bees to honey, the way our lips just came together so automatically. Her lips moved softly against mine, and slowly I increased the pressure. The sensation was incredible, Bella's kisses. It was always like the first time, and yet it was like we'd been doing this for an eternity.

I slid my tongue across her bottom lip once, but Bella denied me entrance. I could feel the corners of her lips turn up. I tried again, but the response was the same. I was just about to pull away, when Bella licked my own bottom lip and I gladly permitted her entrance. My own tongue met hers in the middle and they began to intermingle. I could taste not only her own sweet taste, but a minty flavor as well.

Her arms locked around my neck and her fingers weaved into my hair, twirling strands around her fingertips. I moaned into her mouth, and, surprised at the sound I'd made, broke away from the kiss. We both gasped for breath as I looked into her eyes. "Damn," was all I could bring myself to say.

She giggled and quickly reattached her lips to my own. I slipped my arms around to her back and pulled her up against my body tightly. I didn't know when, but at some point, Bella had switched our positions so that I was no longer straddling her, but her legs were wrapped around my waist, holding her even closer to me.

Our tongues fought for dominance once again over the kingdom that was our mouths and she finally allowed me the crown. I explored her incredible mouth, taking my time to memorize each and every place. She moaned and I pressed further, loving the sound and the feeling of the vibrations.

My phone vibrated in the hip holster and I ignored it. Bella, on the other hand did not. She pulled it from my waist, releasing her grasp on me, and pulled near our faces. It was obviously a phone call, so she pressed 'talk' and I moved my lips from hers.

"Hello Emmett," she said.

With those two words I fell to the side of her and lay on my back. So maybe the thought of my brother pulled me out of my Bella induced haze, but I knew we needed to be getting ready because I needed to bring my parents to the airport and bid them adieu.

I could hear Bella giggle before she continued the conversation. "If only, Em, if only… Yes, I do know I'm talking about your brother… no, Emmett, you do not… Yes, yes, now would you like to speak with him because he's right here or can I hang up and get back to my wonderful morning make out session with your little brother..." I laughed. She sighed overdramatically and turned to look at me, her face flushed in the small amount of morning light that came through the blinds on the windows. "Your brother would like to speak with you."

"Fine," I said as I took it, but quickly added, "Though I would also much rather our wonderful morning make out session too." She laughed and I put the phone to my ear. "Yes, Emmett?"

"_Man, what the hell?"_

"What do you mean 'what the hell?'?" I asked.

"_You and Bella, morning make out, in her bed, GROSS! She's like my little sister man!"_

I chuckled as I put my BlackBerry on speaker and placed it between Bella and me on the bed. "Well, your little sister is hot then Emmett." That really wasn't something I'd say often, whether it was the truth or not. I liked to remain a gentleman when I could, but right now I just felt like screwing with Emmett. When wasn't it fun to screw with Emmett?

He grumbled something that I didn't quite catch and I could see Bella covering her mouth to keep her laughter at bay.

"I'm sorry, Emmett, what was that?"

"_Nothing little brother… So, since you guys slept together last night, and apparently all there was was sleeping, what are you doing today?"_

"I don't know. I was going to take Mom and Dad to the airport."

"_Do you know how to get to the airport?"_

"The beauty of Mapquest, Em."

"_Ah, yes, Mapquest, the most beautiful of all women."_

And that's when Bella lost it. She started cracking up. "I'm telling Rose you said that!" she cried out through her laughs. Growing up with Emmett, I was quite used to his ridiculous comments, so I just kept it at a few chuckles and watched Bella's cheerful mood.

"_Aren't we a little happy this morning, Isabella…"_

"And you can thank Edward for that," she answered, leaning toward me and kissing me deeply again. I immediately became absorbed in the kiss, pulling her on top of me.

"_Hey! Would you two cool it? Don't think I don't know what you're doing right now! I've got eyes everywhere!"_

I detached my lips momentarily, only long enough to say, "Fuck off Emmett."

Bella reached around in search of the phone, and when she finally found it, hit 'end'.

Her fingers found their way to my hair and my hands found the sliver of skin revealed at the small of her back.

A knock came at the door with my mother's voice. "Bella? Edward?"

"Dammit!" Bella and I both cursed under our breath. I released her and she rolled off of me. "I guess that's the end of that." I sighed, running my fingers through my crazy hair in attempt to smooth it out just the tiniest bit.

Bella sighed as well. "I suppose it is, but probably for the best. You can come in, by the way Esme!"

My Mom had the nerve to laugh as she entered the room. "Morning," she said. At least she was kind enough to look apologetic.

"May we help you?" I asked kindly. I never could stay angry at my own mother, no matter what she did.

"Your father and I just wanted to be sure you'd be ready to take us in an hour."

I nodded. "I'm going to go get into the shower in a second and then I'll be ready whenever you are."

"Alright. I let you get back to whatever it was the two of you were busy with," she said, and then turned and walked out of the room.

"Not likely," I heard Bella mutter from where she stood over by her dresser drawers, digging through bags of clothing that had at some point appeared in her bedroom.

"Sorry, Bella," I told her as I walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the back of her neck. "I'll be yours all afternoon though."

She shook her head. "No, actually, I'm going to be doing a lot of writing the next few days. I'm sure you'd like to go out and explore Port Angeles a little bit considering you'll be working there in a few months. I won't be much fun. There's a GPS thing in the top drawer in my desk."

_After spending all day yesterday without you? I doubt I'll leave your side for more than five minutes ever again, _I thought, but kept that to myself as I pulled the GPS from her desk drawer and walked out of the room and down the hall to my own.

**BELLA'S POV**

I dug through my new clothing and found a comfortable t-shirt and grabbed a pair of denim shorts, both of which were deemed wearable by Alice. Then I went and pulled out a sports bra and a new pair of underwear. I assumed Edward would be gone the rest of the day and that I could change by the time he got home. I got into the shower soon after and then went downstairs for a cup of coffee. Grabbing the note, I sat down at the table with Esme and Carlisle and began reading.

_Damn early mornings! Whoever decided I had to get up before 5 AM had so better sleep with one eye open! –Rose_

_------_

_Awwwwwww, poor Rose! I love getting up early! The sunrise looks so pretty, don't you think Jazzy?_

_**Whatever you say, darling.**_

_Love you all – Alice __**& Jasper**_

_-----_

_Morning All! I'm heading out to work and meeting to sign papers with an agent this afternoon for my new gym. Yay me! I forget what my schedule looks like so as far as when I'll be home tonight, I don't know. All I know is that, Bells, you can cut your recipe in half tonight because I'll be picking Rose up from work tonight for dinner. God I love that woman!_

_-Big Bear-_

I couldn't help but laugh at my 'family'. Sometimes, they were just too much in the mornings.

"What have you got there sweetie?" Esme asked and I jumped, having already forgotten she was sitting there.

"Just little notes from everyone. You could read if you'd like," I offered, handing the piece of paper over.

She began scanning the text and laughed as she came across parts that made her laugh. "Carlisle, you must read this."

"We do this every morning," I explained. "It just let's everyone know who's home and who isn't. I don't usually write the little notes because I spend most of my time around the house writing, but every so often I have to go to Seattle and I leave—"

The phone rang, interrupting me mid-sentence. "Excuse me," I said, walking to the phone and picking up the receiver. "Hello?"

"_Bella? It's Tyler."_

"Oh, hey Tyler. What's up?"

"_How is your new book coming?"_

"It's coming along. I was going to spend today working on it."

"_Good, good. What are you doing this coming weekend?"_

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"_Well, there was supposed to be a big book signing at a Barnes & Noble here in Seattle and, um, it got cancelled. So, I immediately grabbed the spot and started publicizing it last night. I tried calling yesterday, but I couldn't get a hold of you and didn't want to lose this opportunity. Anyway, please tell me you can do a book signing event."_

I laughed. Thank goodness he wasn't asking me for a date…again. "Yes, I'm free. I'd like a few passes for my friends, though."

"_That could be arranged. Four?"_

"Five, actually."

"_A new girlfriend? What's her name?"_

I laughed. "Edward."

"_Weird name for a girl."_

"He's a guy."

"_Oh."_

"And he's Emmett's brother."

His voice perked up. _"Oh?"_

"And he's my boyfriend."

His voice fell. _"Oh…"_

"Yeah…" This conversation was becoming a little awkward.

"_Also, _People Magazine_ wants a photo shoot and interview. I need to schedule it soon."_

"Really?!" I asked excitedly.

"_Yeah. They called me up today. Apparently you've been rocking a few online polls and they want an interview and photo shoot, but the interview can happen whenever the photo shoot is. There was some more to it, but that's the basics."_

"Um, you can just set it up for whenever and I'll shift my schedule to that."

"_Alright, sounds great. I'll call you with more details tomorrow."_

"Okay. Bye Tyler."

"_Bye Bella."_

I hung up the receiver and jumped up and down, clapping my hands. I knew I was making an idiot of myself in front of my boyfriend's parents, but I was just too happy to care. I felt a pair of arms grab me around the waist and halt my movement.

"What are we so excited about now?" my favorite voice asked from behind me.

"We are excited because not only does your girlfriend have a book signing this coming weekend, but she also has an interview and photo shoot with _People Magazine!_"

"Really?" Carlisle asked.

"That's incredible. Congratulations," Esme said.

"Oh my god! Edward! _People Magazine!!!!!!_" I could hardly wrap my head around the idea.

"That's amazing, Bella. We'll have to celebrate," he said. I leaned back against his chest, comfortable in his hold, but was soon forced to leave his grasp as it was realized Carlisle and Esme had to depart. "I'll see you later." He kissed me quickly on the forehead and was almost out the door when he stopped and ran upstairs. When he came back down, he simply answered, "Forgot my phone on your bed."

And then there was one.

I sighed, but happily skipped up stairs, slipping on the top step and falling flat on my face. I grumbled as I rubbed out the bump that was already beginning to form on my forehead in the same spot where Edward's lips had just kissed moments ago.

Somehow, I still managed to have a skip in my step as I walked to my room and plopped down onto my bed. We hadn't slept under the covers last night so the bed was just a little messed up from our morning fun. I felt a burning sensation as I recalled Edward's lips on mine with a ferocity I'd never known.

I pulled my laptop off of the side table and booted it up. It turned on quickly and I decided that I needed to check my email. I was positive I'd have tons of fan email. I was always surprised by the number I received.

(a/n: just remember that email addresses and websites don't work in this so I had to make it all weird)

_From: ISluver44 at hotmail . com  
__To: IsabellaSwan at crowleypublishing . com  
__Sent: June 3, 2008  
__Subject: (no subject)_

_Dear Isabella Swan,_

_Your writing is absolutely incredible. I don't know how you do it, but sometimes you just can't question the divine, can you? I'm an aspiring author myself and was wondering if you could give me a tip or two._

_Sincerely,_

_Jackie Down_

I hit the reply button.

_Dear Jackie,_

_Thank you so much for your compliments and taking the time to read my books. I wouldn't call it divine, but I can't really question how I do it either as I know I'll never have the answer. As for a few tips, well, just first start with a subject that you truly love and it won't be long before you're on your way to your own book signings. Also, just find a good publicist and some supportive friends and no matter what they'll see you through._

_Always here to help,_

_Isabella Swan_

I clicked send and went onto the next email.

_From: lilBowWow45 at aim . com  
__To: IsabellaSwan at crowleypublishing . com  
__Sent: June 3, 2008  
__Subject: (no subject)_

_Bella? Bella Swan? Is that really you??!! Wow! I can't believe it. When you left Phoenix I never thought that you'd turn into THE Isabella Swan!_

_Email me, text me, call me (867-555-6745), or instant message me ASAP!_

_Missed you,_

_Seth Clearwater_

I couldn't believe it. I missed Seth. He and I used to be really great friends until Jake and I left for college. I immediately pulled up my AIM and typed in Seth's screen name.

_lilBowWow45 is online._

**BellaBooks: **_can't believe it_

_lilBowWow45: _**me either. This is incredible!**

**BellaBooks: **_how have you been?_

_lilBowWow45: _**terrific. U?**

(a/n: so in the _italics is Bella _and in the _**bold and italics is Seth**_)

_A lot better now than before._

_**Aw, come on, you couldn't have missed me that much.**_

_Lol. Who doesn't miss the Great Seth Clearwater?_

_**Eh, a few more people than you'd think.**_

_So, is there a Mrs. Clearwater yet?_

_**: ) As a matter of fact there's this girl I'm with. Her name is Annie. God, it was love at first sight.**_

_No way! Congrats Seth!_

_**Thanks. How about you? Anyone out there for you right now?**_

_Well…_

_**Aw, come on Bells. I know you have to have forgotten him by now. You were too good for him anyway.**_

_Wait! You're shooting Jake down?_

_**Yeah, I know. A first, right? He and I got into a big fit the last time he was here for a visit and let's just say it was over something I'll never forgive him for.**_

_That's a shame._

_**Eh, not really. He was a jerk for what he did to you anyway. Now that you have successfully managed to steer the conversation away from my question, let's get back to where we were. Is there a mister Swan?**_

_Yeah, my father._

_**Ew! You married Charlie?! That's incest!**_

_Lmao. No you idiot. But yes, there is this guy that I just started dating._

_**Oooo…tell me tell me tell me!**_

_Down boy!_

_**Okay, I'm chilled now. Please, continue.**_

_So, let's start from the beginning. Well, my two college roommates, both of their boyfriends (now fiancés), and myself bought this huge house in Forks, Washington. Rosalie and Alice (roommates) and Emmett and Jasper (current fiancés) have been living in said house for six months now. Anyway, Emmett's brother, Edward, just finished medical school and was going to be working Port Angeles for his internship/residency._

_**That's cool. Where does this story go?**_

_Well, if you didn't interrupt…_

_**Sorry, sorry.**_

_He moved just over a week ago here from Chicago and we've already hit it off. Since everyone other than myself and Edward have to go to work Monday through Friday and sometimes they even have to work on Saturday and Sunday._

_**Did you know you ramble?**_

_As a matter of fact, I did so shut it or I can't finish the story._

_**Fine.**_

_Anyway, I made the first move after pulling a Bella._

_**LMAO! No way! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. **__**That is SO Bella-esque.**_

_Yeah, yeah. W/e. And he gave me this beautiful necklace on Saturday night, asking me to be his girlfriend and then waking up this morning…omg! **fans self furiously with papers**_

_**Sounds like someone's getting some action. ; )**_

_Don't I wish that were true…_

_**Aw, same old typical Bella. So sexually frustrated.**_

_Hey! Who are YOU to be talking about MY sexual frustrations?_

_**I happen to specialize in that field thank you very much.**_

_Whoa! Did Seth actually get his groove on after we left?_

_**I had a bit of a phase.**_

_Had?_

_**Okay, so I'm in a really long phase, but at least I'm faithful to my woman. I'm no fool.**_

_The day that I find out you have some unclaimed child out there is the day that I will personally find you and smack you in the head._

_**Like I said, I'm no fool. I have never once gone without protection.**_

_Why don't I believe you?_

_**HEY! I'm not stupid. Some people are actually careful.**_

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_**I do recall your pregnancy scare with Jake after one drunken night of, and I quote, 'wild drunken monkey sex'.**_

_I was DRUNK! How was I supposed to remember?_

_**Some people don't drink and drive. I don't drink and fuck. Safety first, right?**_

_You never cease to surprise me._

_**Likewise.**_

_Jeez I really missed you Seth._

_**Definitely missed you too Bells. So, what else is new?**_

_Well, besides all the books, the fame, and the money I'm getting (not to be rude about it), there's really nothing else that's changed. Still the same old spazz I was 5 years ago._

_**You know, someday I'm going to submit that video of you on the motorcycle to AFV and win 10,000 dollars!**_

_And I'll sue you for damaging my reputation._

_**Le gasp! You wouldn't!**_

_I would... Okay, so I wouldn't. I'd be sitting next to you blushing furiously and laughing my ass off._

_**That sounds about right. ; )**_

_Lol. Well, I've got to go, but call me sometime and we'll chat. Unfortunately, I've got a book to write and the house to myself. Going to enjoy the peace and quiet._

_**LOVE YOU Bella! What's your number?**_

_837-238-3847_

_**K, thanks. TTYL**_

_Ily2 Sethy!_

I signed off and decided that I needed to get to writing before the house became excessively noisy. Pulling up my document, I began typing from where I left off.

_Brian took Danielle's hand and held it firmly in his as they ventured into the town. They hid in the back corner of the bar and observed the humans, holding their breath in the hopes that they wouldn't attack before they'd found the perfect victims. _

_Danielle looked at the man –vampire- who sat beside her and stared longingly at his beautiful black hair, his five o'clock shadow, and his bright red eyes. Some people would find it all a bit scary, but she found it incredibly sexy. It may have had something to do with the fact that she had those same bright red eyes, but she knew it was because she was falling hopelessly in love with him. And she also knew he'd never feel the same for her._

_Brian chanced a look through his peripheral vision at Danielle. Her beautiful red hair hung over her exposed shoulders and her dazed look tugged at his heart. A small frown played on her lips and he could feel his own chest tightening. He'd changed her, and it was now that he realized he regretted it. He had done it because he'd fallen for her, but he knew she must have hated him right then. How could she not? There was no other reason for her sullen look._

_He could no longer watch her and her heartbreaking expression, so he turned to the bar and watched each patron carefully, waiting for the perfect prey. He had to listen to conversations. He knew no other way to live, so he tried his best to only feast upon the dirt bags and the alone. He never wanted to break apart a family, take a father from his daughter or a woman from her brother. He never took the life of a child and was always aware of what the possible consequences were for his actions._

_Danielle watched Brian closely as he searched for their meals. She was still learning this life, and so far, the only sustenance Brian knew of was the blood of humans. She didn't like this fact, but knew that there were a few people this world could do without, including the terrible man who'd nearly beaten her to death because she was a defenseless child all those years ago. She wished she could have been able to defend herself, but she felt lucky enough just to know that she had survived it._

_Sometimes Danielle wondered how her father had gotten away with it all. She'd never told, of course, but all her teachers knew something was wrong. Why had no one helped her back then?_

_She knew the answer. She was a worthless child back then who was of no worth to them and was better off beaten and rule abiding than running wild and being stupid like the other children she'd known._

_Danielle was determined to get revenge on her father someday. She wasn't sure what she'd do just yet, but she was slowly formulating that plan in her head._

_Once again she looked at Brian when he tapped her on the shoulder. "Over there," he whispered, pointing discreetly to a tall pale man with a clean shaven face and spiked red hair. "He's our dinner tonight."_

_Danielle smiled in response. "Excellent. But, just for the hell of it, let's make this one brutal."_

_Brian looked at her, shocked. "Wa-why?"_

_"Because after all he's done to me, he deserves a terrible death."_

_Brian took Danielle's hand in his as he watched this lovely woman he so greatly loved be encompassed by a cold, heartless demon. "Danielle, doll, do you know him?"_

_"Like the dreamers know their nightmares."_

_"Danielle?" Brian asked. He was concerned. He'd been around this intoxicating immortal for over a month now. How hadn't he seen this or known of any trouble with her? "Danielle, please tell me."_

_"I'll make sure he tells you as I slowly kill him."_

_Brian sighed. He could tell that it would be better to kill the man who'd hurt this woman than to allow her to resent him even more for keeping her from what she wanted. "Alright. He's just leaving now so let's go." He didn't remove his hand from hers as he pulled her from their seats and kept her on his opposite side so she couldn't be seen by their dinner. They followed the man outside to the parking lot where Brian than went to working distracting the man._

_"Excuse me? Sir?"_

_"Yes?" The man looked up. It was obvious by the way he had difficulty standing upright that he was beyond the legal limit._

_"I'm sorry, but I'm having a bit of car trouble. Would you ass—" Brian stopped mid-sentence. Danielle had come up behind the man and pressed on one of the pressure points in his neck. Instantly the man fell unconscious and she picked him up, slinging him over her shoulder and carrying him to the man's car. "What are you doing?"_

_"He's too drunk to know what's happening to him. I want him to understand that he's going to die and that I'm going to be his killer."_

_Brian nodded. Seeing Danielle this was quite unnerving, and yet he knew it was undeniably a turn on. When she set the man down in the car, she shut the door hard and turned to him. "Let's go."_

_He grabbed her by the wrist roughly. "One thing first."_

_She growled at him as fire burned behind her now black eyes. "What Brian?"_

_He pulled her up against his chest harshly and she gasped. His lips landed on hers because he knew he could no longer deny himself the pleasure of her taste. She responded to his kiss once she'd recovered from the utter shock, but whimpered when he pulled away. "Don't you ever growl at me again," he scolded, walking around the car to the driver's side. "No matter how damn sexy it is."_

I laughed as I finished. Sometimes I was clueless as to how these little monstrosities flew from my mind. Apparently, the corners of my creativity really had a thing for violent vampires. I continued writing and was slightly engrossed in and slightly disgusted by the things my mind concocted for Danielle's father's death. It was a brutal, painful, cruel punishment and Danielle loved every minute of it. Brian's kisses had no affect on the passion with which she hated her abuser and the more vindictive she became, the more of an affect she had on Brian's longing.

My bedroom scenes often got very graphic and detailed, and in this book, violent and torturous as well. When I was writing the first one in this story today, I couldn't help but to finally decide on the title _Love Bites_. It was just too perfect.

I was finding myself more immersed in this book than any other I'd ever written, but that was most likely because I continued to picture myself as Danielle and Edward as Brian.

Edward made a really hot vampire.

**EDWARD'S POV**

"I'm going to miss you guys," I admitted as I hugged my mother tightly.

"You know you're always welcome to call us anytime, Edward," Mom responded.

"I know."

"I think your mother means that you should be calling us as much as possible or she'll be flying out here to get you and pull you back home by your ears," Dad said and I chuckled.

"Why is it that I can actually picture you doing that Mom?"

I got a playful whack on back as I released from the embrace. "I'd pull you by the hair, not the ears Edward."

My hand instantly went to my hair. "Not the hair!" I joked.

I shook my father's hand. "We'll see you soon, Son."

"I love you guys," I said as they both walked off, hand in hand, toward the security check.

"We love you too… And Bella as well." And then they were lost in the crowd.

Hearing Bella's name made my heart skipped and I knew I was doomed. I left and got into my car, turning on the GPS and typing in the name of the gym Emmett was working at. I had always kept a gym bag in the back of my car. You never knew when you'd have the chance to get to the gym when you were me. It wasn't too far so I'd figure I'd do a short workout.

When I got there, I went to the front desk, bag in hand. "Hi, is Emmett Cullen here?"

She looked up at me and stumbled over her words. "Oh… he… um… yeah… I think…he's in the… yeah…he's here."

"Where?"

She pressed a button on a black panel to the left of her and a few seconds later her desk phone rang.

"You've got someone here for you… No, it's not your girlfriend… It's a man… Okay." She hung up the phone and looked at me. "He says he'll be here in a second."

Not one to disappoint, Emmett emerged from some room just down the hall. "Jessica, there had better be a good reason you're… Eddie!"

"Edward, Emmett, my name is Edward."

"Whatever. What's up little brother?"

I held up my gym bag. "Hoping to get a work out."

"What? Bella not enough of a work out for you or are you just always on the bottom?"

I punched him in the gut in a brotherly gesture. "Believe me Emmett. I'm _always_ on top."

"Hmmm. I thought Bella liked the top…"

"Fuck you, Emmett."

He laughed. "Re-lax, buddy. Just joking with you. If you're going to be dating my little Bells, you've got to let me deal with it in my own way."

"Okay, fine. So, can I do a little time on the treadmill and whatever or am I going to waste my time standing here talking to you."

"Right this way." Emmett led me to the locker room and I thanked him. "Main workout rooms are that way, and there are some classes going on down the hall, but you'd probably prefer to watch them than to participate if you know what I'm saying."

I got to changing and threw my clothes back into my bag, then went to the big open room with at least five of each machine. I saw a few treadmills open and went to the closest one. Looking at my watch, I saw that it was just after noon and decided I could run for about an hour before I'd need to go eat something.

I popped in my head phones and starting listening to my playlist made especially for running and started, going at ten miles per hour.

**BELLA'S POV**

"Good evening, sweet cheeks," a light voice said from behind me.

"Evenin' Alice. How was work?"

"Delightful. I started setting up profiles and books for each client since it won't be too long before I quit to start working for Esme."

"Congrats again Ally, I really can't tell you enough how proud I am of you."

"Don't get all mushy on me now."

I fake sobbed. "My little girl's all grown up."

"Yeah, yeah. So, what'd you do today?"

I laughed. "Well, I made out with Edward, got a photo shoot and interview with _People Magazine_, got scheduled for a book signing at _Barnes & Noble _this coming weekend, had a long conversation with a friend from back home and wrote almost thirty more pages of my book. Nothing really different," I answered as if this was all common day events.

I turned to look at Alice and she was standing mouth agape. Her mouth shut and then opened again, and then repeated the movements.

_Wow, that's a first. Alice speechless…_

I threw a piece of clothing that I was folding at Alice. I had just finished doing the laundry, having started it when I broke for lunch and switched the loads every half hour. I had to do Emmett's, Jasper's, Alice's, Rose's, and mine. Edward didn't know to throw his used clothing into the laundry shoot. Of course, how could we expect him to when we'd never told him?

"Wow! Bella!" she finally screeched as she jumped at me with arms wide open. I felt her childlike arms wrap around my neck and she squeezed…hard.

"Alice," I spoke in a raspy, strained voice.

"Oh sorry." She loosened her grasp, but refused to release me. "Oh my god! Bella! You do know that your life couldn't be any better than this, right?"

"How so, Alice?"

"You have your friends, a gorgeous boyfriend, family, fame, fortune, a job, a house, and on top of all that, you're living your dream! I dare you to tell me how it could be any better." She pulled back from me, holding me by the shoulders and looking me in the eye.

"I could be getting laid," I answered.

She raised her eyebrow at me. "Believe me, you're not far from that."

I laughed. "Well, thanks to you, I'll all ready for that." I smirked at her and she giggled.

"As much as I love hearing you talking about your sex life…" Jasper started from where he, unbeknownst to me, stood in the arch way that was the entrance to our living room. "I'd much prefer to also give you my congratulations."

"Thank you, Jasper. How was your day?"

"Same old, same old. Although, I did have a rather interesting client today."

"Really…"

"Yup. He thinks he's a werewolf. Try spending two hours working with this guy while you do your best not to laugh. I had to take a number of bathroom breaks so I wouldn't break down into hysterics in front of him or piss my pants in laughter."

I laughed. "What ever happened to doctor-patient privileges?"

"They went out the window when I started working with people like him while living in this house," he answered, laughing as well.

Some days, I wondered how Jasper could ever deal with these crazies. It was a miracle he was still sane himself.

"Why do I always miss out on the funny stuff?" Edward asked, entering the room with a gym bag in hand.

I smiled as Alice asked, "What else was funny?"

I motioned for her to come closer and I whispered in her ear, "This morning, I woke up before Edward. I really didn't want to get up so I just quickly brushed my teeth and then slipped back into his arms. He moved his head onto my shoulder, momentarily resting on my breast before he moved it a little higher and he lightly kissed my neck. He mumbled something about kneeling at the feet of an angelic presence. I was trying so hard not to laugh, but to no such luck, I woke him up as I giggled."

**EDWARD'S POV**

I was suddenly a little nervous about what Bella was whispering to Alice. I knew it was whatever had happened this morning, and I still didn't know what I had done to make her laugh. I hoped I didn't somehow manage to make an ass out of myself by groping her when I had no conscious control over my actions.

Alice started laughing and Bella's tinkling laughter joined hers. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm the king of hilarity. Now, let's move on to bigger and better things," I said.

"And that would be?" Jasper asked. I pulled the Block Buster bag out from behind my back and dumped the four videos I'd rented onto the stack of folded clothing.

"Movie night. I've got four movies that I hadn't seen in your collection and that I believe we must watch."

Bella picked up the DVDs. She looked at each one and grinned when she came across one. "_What Happens in Vegas_… Definitely a top pick here. Oh, and _Baby Mama_ too! Yeah. That's definitely perfect!"

"Is she always like this when it comes to movies?" I asked Alice with a chuckle.

"After a day of writing? Oh yeah."

"Anyone know what time it is?" Bella asked.

"About four thirty, give or take a few minutes," Jasper answered.

"Okay then. Let's start with _Employee of the Month _and then watch _Blonde Ambition_, then we can watch the other two," Alice decided.

"Edward, what's with all the blonde women in the movies?" Bella asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I personally prefer blondes." I heard Jasper snort from behind me but Bella quirked a perfect eyebrow at me and so I sat beside her and quickly kissed her lips. "Let's start watching, shall we?"

Bella moved the laundry basket and sat back into the couch. I sat back as well and put my arm around her shoulders. Alice hopped up with the DVD in hand and put into the player below the very large plasma TV.

Jasper sat down she had been and instead of taking the empty space still available, she sat in Bella's lap, laid her legs across mine, and put her head in Jaspers. You had to love Alice; she was always a surprising little pixie.

Jasper had the remote in his hand so he hit play and _Employee of the Month _began playing. I watched as Jessica Simpson appeared on the screen, but damn, she had nothing on my angel.

I loved hearing Bella laugh, which is why I'd rented these movies. All four of them were comedies and each guaranteed a chuckle every few minutes. Plus, they were romantic comedies, so there was a little bit of everything.

**BELLA'S POV**

Throughout the first two movies, I couldn't keep myself focused on the movie. Edward made his proximity to me all too well known as he rubbed circles into my left shoulder in a seemingly mindless manner. Still, it felt like he doing this purposely and I wasn't finding that very fair.

When Alice put _What Happens in Vegas _into the DVD player, I shot her a look and she instantly knew what I was thinking. She smirked at me and sat on the other side of Jasper to give Edward and me some space.

The movie began playing and I started slowly by moving in closer to Edward and swinging my legs across his lap. His arm instantly fell on top of them, keeping them in his lap. I remained like this for the first fifteen minutes of the movie. And when I was pretty sure his attention was fully on the movie, I quickly put my hand behind his head and pulled his face to mine.

I knew I'd caught him so off guard, but that was the point. It was only fair as he was making my head all foggy and my body a little warmer than usual. It took him a moment to fully grasp the fact that I was kissing him, but he kissed back and I opened my mouth for him without him even needing to ask permission. His tongue slid inside and we picked up from where we left off this morning.

Just as he was pulling me into his lap for a closer kiss, I pulled away and repositioned myself so that I was in the same exact place as I'd been when the other movies had first started. I turned all my attention back to the movie, even though I was actually entirely focused on Edward. I could hear his heavy breathing and could picture the bewildered expression on his face.

His arm, which had still remained wrapped around my shoulders, slid down to my waist and his breathing grew louder as his face neared my ear. "That wasn't very nice, Bella," he whispered into my ear in a deep voice that told me he was as hot and bothered as I'd been. "You will regret that."

When I was sure he was looking back at the TV, I moved my lips to his ear. "Make me," I purred.

"Gladly," he answered. The hand which rest at my waist slipped under the hem of the shirt that I was now wearing. I'd changed into a camisole with lace on the top and bottom, but kept the same shorts on. I wasn't wearing shoes now, but my hair was at least sort of styled.

The hand began traveling up my side and I wondered what the hell he was going to do. His lips moved to my neck and kissed gently before sucking. Shit, I was doomed.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I didn't know what had come over me, but Bella had been cruel before and I was going to have fun messing with her.

My hand rose higher, brushing lightly along her side, until it reached the bottom of her bra. I ran my finger along the bottom of it while sucking on her neck softly hard enough that there would be a mark, but softly enough that it'd hardly be visible. Her breathing hitched, and I immediately snapped my hand back to her waist and pulled my lips from her neck, chuckling to myself.

Her hand slipped onto my knee and squeezed strongly. It was an insane sensation that was painful and tickled at the same time. Then her small hand traveled up the jeans I wore and she did so excruciatingly slowly. When she finally came near the area that was growing hard, she skipped up further, hooked her fingers into my belt loop, and tugged upward then released it. I jumped. That was a little painful.

I looked at her and she had the nerve to smirk at me. I leaned in close to her ear, not wanting Alice or Jasper to hear what was going on. "Would you like to take this upstairs?" I asked. I put my hand onto her bare leg.

_Thank you who ever invented short shorts._

"I'm quite happy here, thanks," she replied indifferently.

My hand slowly moved upward and I felt like I was in ninth grade again playing the uncomfortable game with the girls in my class. Of course, I found the feel of her skin below my hand to be incredible, nothing like ninth grade. "You sure about that?" I continued.

I really had no idea what had come over me. Okay, I did. Bella came over me.

Her voice shook a little this time as she responded. "The only way you're getting me upstairs is if you carry me."

"That can be arranged." My hand had just moved to the edge of the shorts as I said this and I begrudgingly removed it slipped one arm under her knees and other behind her back so that as I lifted her, she'd be cradled.

I didn't even say anything to Alice or Jasper as I left the room with a giggling Bella in my arms. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her lips brushed against my ear. "Someone's a little desperate."

"Someone is being tortured by a tantalizing woman," I answered.

"Only because someone has been teasing me all evening," she replied, her lips then attaching to the skin just below my ear lobe and sucking. I almost dropped her at the top of the staircase when she did that.

"You're stepping into dangerous territory, miss."

She hummed. "I like dangerous."

I groaned and hurried into my room which was nearest the steps. I laid her on the bed and smirked down at her before getting onto the bed myself. My lips pulled to hers like magnets and Bella instantly rolled us so that she was on top of me, straddling my waist.

We separated to take a breath.

"Emmett did say you liked the top," I muttered.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," I quickly answered and pulled her lips back to mine. Once again, we picked up from where we'd last left off and everything was great until…

_Did you ever know that you're my hero  
And everything I would like to be  
__I could fly higher than an eagle  
_'_Cause you are the wind beneath my wings_

"Dammit!" Bella cursed.

"Ignore it," I responded, going back to exactly where we were.

_Did you ever know that you're my hero  
And everything I would like to be  
__I could fly higher than an eagle  
_'_Cause you are the wind beneath my wings_

"I can't!"

"Fine." I slipped my hand into her front pocket where her phone was not only playing the song, but also vibrating against the both of us and pulled the device out. "Here."

"Thank you," she said before opening the small device. She remained laying on top of me and stared into my eyes. "Hey Dad."

Fuck.

**BELLA'S POV**

"_What's up, Bells?"_

"Honestly Dad? A lot." I could feel Edward very tense beneath me and smirked at him while I mouthed, 'don't move'.

"_Like what?"_

"Well, my career is shooting through the roof. I have a book signing this weekend and an interview and photo shoot with _People Magazine_. Oh, not to mention the million dollars I just made off of my most recent book."

"_That's great Bells."_

I looked Edward in the eyes then as I also added, "And I've got a great boyfriend now too." Edward smiled at me and leaned forward, pecking me quickly on the lips. The line was silent for a while.

"_Bells, how serious are you?"_

"Don't worry Dad. He's a great guy, a doctor, Jasper's cousin, and Emmett's brother."

I knew that this wasn't about whether or not he was a good guy or if he would hurt me or if we'd live happily ever after. I loved my father dearly, but he still harbored this strange fantasy that Jacob and I would get back together someday, even though Jacob was currently married to the woman he'd run off with two years ago.

"_Bells…"_

"Dad, you know Jacob and will never have our happily ever after, no matter how many times you dream that he'll return to me and that I'll take him back with open arms. So, do you mind if I just move on with my life?" Edward looked at me, befuddled. I shook my head and mouthed, 'you don't want to know.'

My dad sighed. _"Fine. But Bella, just be careful with this one. I don't want you coming home to me with a broken heart again."_

I smiled, even though my father couldn't see it, but obviously Edward had heard my father speaking now.

"Don't worry sir. I could never break your daughter's heart. I'd be breaking mine as well."

I looked at him, stunned.

My father grumbled something like _"it's always the charmers." _But I hardly heard him.

"Bye Dad," I said quickly before shutting the phone and attaching my lips to Edward's.

He pulled back. "What was that for?"

I smiled. "That was just too sweet."

"Anytime, Bella."

"I'll hold you to that."

"You won't have to. If it'll earn me a kiss every time I say something sweet, I'll be spewing every complimentary thought about you that comes to mind. And there are a lot of things about you more than worthy of compliments."

I smiled and pressed my lips to his again. It was passionate and out of this world and the second his tongue swirled around mine, I lost my control began pulling his t-shirt from his sculpted body. I slid my hands along his sides as I inched the shirt up. We broke apart just long enough to get the shirt up and over his head. My hands traveled his torso, over his incredible abs.

His hands were at my waist and began pulling my camisole up. As my skin met his, I could feel growing beneath me even more so than he'd been before. It wasn't long before he'd discarded the camisole and all I had left to cover my upper body was my bra. Of course, he'd seen this much of me already. His hands slid up my spine, sending a shiver through me as they moved to the hooks that held together my bright green bra with light blue polka dots. He undid the clasp and I pushed my weight up on my arms so that he could begin slipping it down.

Edward had hardly started to pull it off when Rosalie, of all people, walked in. "Hey Edward, have you seen—Shit."

I fell forward onto Edward's chest and buried my face into the crook of his neck, my face heating against his skin. "Jesus Rose. Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I asked. Sure, she'd seen this much of me, but could there have been anymore interruptions today when Edward and I were…busy?

"Sorry. You two should really lock your doors," she answered.

I did my best to point behind me toward the door without looking and still keeping myself covered. "Out." I heard the door creak as Rose closed it and the muffled laughter as she walked down the steps. "Well, I'll take that as a sign that this was not supposed to go any further today."

"I know what you mean. How many is that?" Edward answered, kissing my forehead.

"Three, I think."

I could feel him fumbling with the clasp of my bra, but that just wasn't working from the angle he was at. I sat up, keeping my bra in place, and then reached behind me once I was sure it wouldn't move to re-clasp it. Edward watched intently, probably hoping to catch a glimpse.

"Now, where's my shirt?"

Edward looked around and then pointed to the couch. "Over there." I groaned. I didn't want to get up right now, but got off of Edward and put my camisole on. He was slipping his t-shirt back on when I turned around.

"Alright, let's go downstairs."

He got up and took my hand and the both of us walked down stairs.

I could hear the laughter and groaned.

Emmett was going to have a field day.


	12. After Dark

**a/n: so first thing is that i broke up with my boyfriend on monday and he's gone totally awol! okay, second i added bella's outfit in this chapter to my profile.**

**ATTENTION! THIS IS REALLLY REALLLY IMPORTANT! Those of you who were with me in A Never Ending Romance are familiar with my chapter dedications. Well, i'm going to be doing this again, but this time it will be with this story!!!! So, for those of you who don't understand what this means, it means that each chapter i update, i look at the person with the highest number of reviews in total and their name goes on the chapter. Of course, I go through everyone once before i restart the cycle, but, if you have less than three reviews submitted then you're not eligible for the dedication. If your name does get put on the chapters, THAT DOES NOT MEAN TO STOP REVIEWING BECAUSE YOU CAN BE PUT UP THERE A SECOND TIME!!!! so please, lets see some more reviews people!!!!! **

**I have gone through every review every review submitted thus far and put all names onto an excel sheet and the number of reviews submitted so, the first dedication is going up for this chapter.**

**Dedication: _laibballfan_** WITH 10 REVIEWS!!

**BELLA'S POV**

Emmett didn't just have a field day, he had a whole fucking field WEEK! The jokes didn't stop, not to mention that I heard a few too many things repeated about myself that Edward honestly didn't to know, including almost all of my ER trips in the past six months, which took about three hours of our time up and after Emmett finally had finished spewing those stories, he moved on to just my general screw ups. At that point, I'd just abandoned all hope of sitting by Edward's side and left for my bedroom to sleep.

Normally, I would have taken a shower before going to sleep, just to relax and unwind, but I just couldn't bring myself to wash away Edward's scent from my body which happened to be all over. I knew it sounded stupid and obsessive and a little overboard, but the commands my brain sent through my body were just completely blocked by the need to continue to wear his delicious smell.

So, I'd slipped into bed and tossed and turned while downstairs they laughed at Emmett's 'hilarious' stories of my pitfalls. Toss, turn, toss, and turn. It seemed like hours, but I watched the clock the entire time and it only lasted for a little over one. After a while, someone else came up the steps and a door down the hall opened and then closed. Five minutes later it opened and closed again. I heard quiet footsteps coming toward my side of the hallway and assumed that Emmett and Rose were first going to her room and then going into Emmett's room for the night. But I realized it couldn't be when I heard Emmett's booming laugh downstairs.

Maybe it was Rose.

Someone's hand took hold of my door knob, the old door making more noise than was likely intended, but then they removed it. I stopped looking at the clock and looked to my bedroom door. The light in the hallway streaked through the crack beneath my door and I could see a set of feet there as they moved backward and out of sight. Then they reappeared again, but disappeared.

I sighed as they didn't return and instead receded downstairs.

That night was filled by restless sleep, no dreams, and a nonstop mind that often consisted of thoughts of Edward and me. Damn dirty mind.

The next morning, I woke up a little later than usual and immediately got a cup of coffee, set up my laptop at the table, and started writing. I managed to do that the rest of the day and Edward made himself scarce, either on the piano, on his BlackBerry, on the phone, or whatever else he could do to busy himself. (Tuesday)

The day after, Emmett had stayed home and he and Edward moved all of his stuff into Rose's room. Apparently, it was much easier to shift all of Emmett's home equipment, clothes, work, and mementos into Rose's room than it was to move everything in her closet into Emmett's. I continued writing. (Wednesday)

Thursday was much the same as Wednesday, but this time, they were moving Edward's things into Emmett's old room. Emmett's room was the biggest bedroom in the house, Edward's previous room the biggest available at the time. I could hear a lot of teasing coming from Emmett when he found Edward's copy of one of my books. I tried to stifle my giggles, but it was difficult. I decided I had to take a look and snuck across the hall and looked through the key hole of what would now be Edward's room. To see Emmett holding the book all the way above his head and Edward jumping up to try and pull it from him was, to say the least, impossibly, painfully, rolling-on-the-floor-laughing-your-ass-off funny. Fortunately, I was back in my own room before I burst into a laughing fit and they couldn't hear my snorts.

Friday was Edward and I alone in the house. He spent most of the day rearranging his room while I wrote in my own. I was completely writer's blocked, but I still kept trying to push through it, writing out different scenarios randomly that I wanted to be included in the book and then trying to pick the ones that would fit and the one's that wouldn't. Eventually, I was able to pick five that I would be able to bridge together well and that would enhance the story. Writer's block officially unblocked.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I spent almost all day Friday in my room arranging things perfectly. I was painfully aware that Bella was just in the bedroom only five steps away from my own bedroom door, and yet I couldn't move myself to interrupt her. I had almost gone into her room to sleep Monday night, but chickened out the second my hand was on her door knob. This became an occurrence every night. Each night I was closer and closer to doing so. I felt like a stalker last night, the way that I had managed to actually stand just inside of her room. I couldn't get myself to move closer, so I just stood there and watched her sleep for heaven knows how long. She tossed and turned a lot, and I wondered why, but when she began to stir, I bolted for my own room.

Now it was Saturday and I was sitting at the kitchen table, at 6 AM as Bella requested we all be awake by then, with Emmett, my so called brother who still hadn't shut up about me owning a few – well all – of Bella's books. But, that was alright, because while I had helped him move his things into Rosalie's room on Wednesday, I had managed to find his embarrassing photos of me, only to find he had a lot more than I thought, plus embarrassing photos of Jasper as well. I took them and hid them away in my underwear drawer, knowing that when we moved my stuff into Emmett's room, I'd be the one moving its contents. As if Emmett would go near my boxers willingly.

I sipped my coffee as Alice skipped into the room, Rosalie strutting in behind her. Jasper was directly behind the both of them, rubbing his eyes and dragging his feet.

"Morning sunshine," I said to my cousin who in turn flipped me the bird. "Love you too, Jasper," I muttered, going back to my mug for more coffee.

"ALICE! ROSALIE! GET YOUR ASSES UP HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL EVER WILLINGLY SUBJECT MYSELF TO PLAYING BELLA BARBIE!" Bella shouted so loudly and suddenly from upstairs that I jumped in my seat and spilled a small bit of coffee on the table.

Alice and Rose looked at each other, eyes wide, and then they ran from the room faster than a bullet and charged up the steps. How they did that in stilettos I'll never know.

Jasper was still in a sleep deprived daze while Emmett was across the table, laughing his ass off. Me? Well, I was just absolutely confused. "What the hell is 'Bella Barbie'?" I asked.

Jasper yawned. "When Alice and Rose dress Bella up and do her hair and makeup as if she were their own life size doll," he answered, his voice monotone, indifferent.

"How often?"

"Whenever they can find a reason. Usually, though, they have to force Bella to do this. It's pretty funny," Emmett replied with a snort.

"Poor Bella," I mumbled.

**BELLA'S POV**

"ALICE! ROSALIE! GET YOUR ASSES UP HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL EVER WILLINGLY SUBJECT MYSELF TO PLAYING BELLA BARBIE!" I shouted as loud as I could from my bedroom. I could practically hear their mouths hit the floors and the gears in their heads turning as they processed the words that had flown from my mouth.

Then their high heels thundered against the floor as they raced up here at record setting speeds. Why is it that they could run in stilettos when I could barely walk in them?

My door flew open and the both of them rushed into my room. Rose's foot caught on one of the many garments in my room and she stumbled, but kept herself upright.

"What the hell did you do here?" she asked in utter amazement of the mess I'd made of my bedroom.

"Hi, my name is Hurricane Bella," I replied sarcastically. "Now you two have an hour to dress me up and make me pretty before we leave for my book signing. On your marks, get set, GO!"

It was an instantaneous reaction as they began scrambling around my drawers, closet, shopping bags, and my floor, picking up clothes as they went while I stood there in nothing but a towel with soaking wet hair.

When they'd each found two outfits, they laid all four out on the bed and they started deciding between them all, shaking their heads at some and switching around others until they found the perfect one. With that accomplished, Rose disappeared into the closet to find shoes while Alice grabbed me my tiny blue silk robe (I still hadn't forgotten about them throwing out my comfy one) and forced me into it before sitting me in a chair in front of my makeup/hair table (something Alice and Rose forced me into having) with the mirror attached to the wall right above it.

My hair was blow dried quickly and straightened. Then Alice pulled half of it up and pinned it in back with some silver pin I'd never seen before. There were dark blue jewels in it and the metal was woven in some sort of intricate pattern. Rose then did my makeup. My eyes were lined with dark green eyeliner that was so close to black, but still green enough to make my eyes pop. My lips were colored with a delicate natural pink and she skipped the blush, probably knowing that I'd be blushing from the attention.

I stood when they declared that portion complete and moved over to the bed where they had laid a dress for me and a dark blue lacy undergarment, to which I shot a narrow-eyed look at Rose and Alice. They were debating about something in whispers until finally they agreed and Alice ran from the room only to return with a pair of silver heels. I put everything on without a fight, and I knew that the shoes would be fine no matter what because I'd be sitting during the book signing.

I looked, in my opinion, H-O-T-T hot!

When I expressed this, the girls giggled but agreed.

It was the 'Mary Sue' dress I'd gotten at Nordstrom the other day. The slightly stretchy inset waist in solid black shapes made it comfortable. The silk dress was in a bright abstract print called Truest. It was blue, bright blue, white, grey, and black. The pattern was totally random. The neckline was a low V, and the dress had fluid, elbow-length sleeves. It ended around mid-thigh.

The shoes were ones that Alice had tried to convince me to buy, but I decided not to. Apparently, she went ahead and bought them for me herself. They were the 'Fettucine' Sandal heels that, coincidentally, were also from Nordstrom. The heel was 4 inches, but I figured that as long as I got into my seat without a problem, I'd be fine. They had narrow intertwining straps that made up an ankle wrap and the heel was slender.

All in all, it looked beyond perfect. **(and the picture is on my profile)**

I slipped on a silver charm bracelet onto my left wrist that I myself selected and Alice handed me a silver clutch to go with my outfit. I took it and carefully moved around my room to collect my cell phone, my credit cards and money, and the few other small things I needed.

Once I was satisfied that I was finished, I realized it was almost seven. The three of us were all ready and so we walked downstairs to meet the guys and shove off for Seattle.

**EDWARD'S POV**

As always, Bella was a sight to see. She looked unintentionally sexy, or at least it seemed that she looked unintentionally sexy. Who knew? Her legs were gorgeous with the heels and the blues, as they've seemed to since we'd first met, made her skin glow. The dress was elegant but the appeal was still there in the low neckline and the mid-thigh length. It was like it was made just to tease a man, telling you what's there, just an inch away from showing it, but never revealing it.

I walked over to her and she looked calm and put together, ready for the battle that was ahead of her. I brushed my lips against hers. "Good morning. You look like heaven this morning."

She giggled. "Thank you. You don't look too shabby yourself." I chuckled. I was wearing a grey button down dress shirt and jeans. It was nothing particularly different than what she'd seen me in thus far.

I turned to look at everyone else and slipped my arm around her waist. "Are we ready to get going?"

Everyone answered with a 'yes' and Alice started to speak. "We're taking cars in couples. We'll be going out tonight and if anyone wants to leave before anyone else, then it only makes sense. Oh, and I've also made hotel reservations in Seattle because we're staying there overnight, mainly because I have some meetings there tomorrow morning with a few of my clients and Emmett's meeting with a lawyer to check that everything is fine and dandy with his gym contract, he's not getting screwed over and all because they are requesting extra money, and it makes no sense to come home. I pulled clothes for everyone and there are soaps and shampoos at the hotel." She said all this in one breath and I wondered if she didn't need to breathe or something like that.

"Okay, so then Jazz and I are taking my Porsche, Em and Rose are taking the M3, and Bella and Edward should take Edward's Volvo. Capiche?"

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am," Emmett answered sarcastically with a salute before he marched off with Rose in tow saying, "Left, left, left, right, left…"

I chuckled as I led Bella to my car with my arm snuggly around her waist. She stumbled over her feet a few times, but I held her up. Who knows what I'd do if she fell? Okay, I knew. I'd go into automatic doctor mode and check her for injuries. And then once I was finished I'd realize that I got to see her body and I didn't get to appreciate it. I chuckled again silently to myself.

I opened the door and begrudgingly released my light hold I had on Bella so that she could get in. I ran around the car quickly and took my own seat before starting the long, nearly four hour trek to Seattle.

- - -

"Of course baseball is better than basketball, isn't everything?" I answered.

"In my opinion? No. Basketball is way better. You see some of those slam dunks? They can be pretty damn amazing!" she replied with ardor.

"Nope, baseball tops football, which tops basketball by a landslide."

"Ugh, football, don't even get me started on that!"

"What's wrong with football?" I asked, astonished. I was almost offended. Almost.

"Well, for one, it's a bunch of guys running around a big field attacking each other and tackling other players. Not to mention that it requires absolutely NO skill whatsoever."

"I don't know what football you're watching, but the football I know happens to require a lot of skill thank you very much."

She laughed. "You know what sport's awesome?"

"By your standards or mine?"

"Mine," she shot back, maturely sticking out her tongue at me.

"Careful with that. You may never know what will happen to it…" I warned in a low voice.

Her eyes darkened as she leaned toward me and licked directly behind my right ear. I was thankful we'd stopped for the traffic light as I would have otherwise gone off the road and hit a pedestrian or two in my surprise. Bella sat back in her seat, unaffected. "Rugby," she said, answering her question.

"Yeah, Rugby, good sport," I agreed while I tried to process how she had this sort of effect on me.

She giggled as the red light switched to green and I continued driving down the street until Bella told me to pull into a parking garage. I did as told and then helped her from the car. Everyone else arrived a few seconds behind us and we six met with a man in back of the Barnes & Noble building.

"Bella," the man greeted, taking her right hand in his and kissing the back. She pulled it back before he released it, having winced at the contact. This caused me to smile, despite the fact I wanted to hit him extremely hard for laying his lips on my girlfriend, my Bella.

"Mr. Crowley," she spoke professionally as she moved closer to me. I wrapped my right arm around her waist and held her close to my side. "You know Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie from our previous encounters?"

"Of course, and Bella, please, you know by now to call me Tyler. We've been working together for years."

"Yes, well, _Tyler, _this is my _boyfriend_, Edward Cullen."

I could see his smile tighten as he turned to me. "Mr. Cullen," he acknowledged with a nod.

"Tyler," I replied, giving the same courtesy of acknowledgement. I held my laugh back at the jealousy I could see in his expression. I could understand why he was jealous, though. I mean, Bella was amazingly beautiful, beyond talented, and far too smart for her own good. What wasn't appealing about her?

He looked away from me and stared Bella in the eyes. "Shall we?" he asked, handing each of us our passes, giving me mine reluctantly. He opened the back door and led us inside and up the steps. We were brought to the second floor and to a room in the back corner that was set up like a lounge.

"The only people allowed back here are the ones with those passes. It they don't have them, they can't disturb you," Tyler explained. I sat down with Bella on one of the leather sofas. There was food on the coffee table. Six sandwiches to be more specific. There was also food on another table along the wall. Emmett was eyeing it all hungrily. "You may all have whatever you please of the food in here. Make yourselves comfortable because you still have about an hour." He left the room and a security guard stood in front of the door.

Bella picked up a sandwich and handed it to me, then picked up another for herself. She pointed to the other saying who each was for. "I called Tyler and made sure they'd have specific sandwiches for each of us because I knew we'd be getting here right around lunch and I wasn't sure if we'd be able to go grab any before. I mean, you guys could, but I'd be stuck here. Besides, we've all been to book signings before, I've only had two, but even those were completely crazy and they were just local. Do you guys honestly want to miss that?"

Everyone started laughing and I felt like I was missing something. I looked around before Bella brought her lips to my ear and whispered, "This one guy ran inside the book store nude with _I love I.S. _tattooed on one of his ass cheeks, and then the titles of all my books on the other." I looked at her wide eyed.

"No way."

"Way." I laughed. "And you don't even know the half of it. You'd have to see to really get everything out of it."

"Ooo! Ooo! I have a few pictures on my cell phone!" Alice chimed.

"In truth, this is the only reason that Emmett knew about it. We hadn't yet met Emmett at that point, but just a week later," Bella told me while Alice quickly found the photo and tossed me the phone.

"Holy shit," I mumbled. "Was he arrested?"

"I asked the cops to just let him go because it was absolutely hilarious and made my day." She was blushing since she started telling me the story.

I kissed her cheek. "You are a kind soul."

"I know," she replied, before taking a bite of her turkey and cheese sandwich, at least I was pretty sure that's what it was. I opened up my own sandwich and bit into it. Chicken parmesan.

"How'd you know to order this for me?" I asked Bella, surprised she'd picked me my favorite.

She shrugged and swallowed down the bite she'd been chewing. "You seem like a chicken parm person."

I laughed. "She's a freak, Edward. It's almost as scary as our Alice's super pixie feeling prediction thingies," Emmett chimed in.

Everyone laughed while Alice responded. "Hey! That's super _duper _pixie feeling prediction thingies to you mister!" I almost spit out my delicious sandwich.

"Yeah, that's me, super duper sandwich profiling girl," Bella chirped sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. I smiled and wiped and kissed her lips, successfully getting rid of the little bit of mustard that had been there.

"My eyes! They burn!" Emmett cried out and I picked up a chip from the bowl in the center of the coffee table and threw it at him. It bounced off his nose and his eyes shot open. "Bring it Eddie Boy."

I laughed. "No thanks, Em. I'd rather not be banned from this store."

Everyone laughed. I was sure Emmett had bragged about all the stores he wasn't allowed to enter back in Chicago.

Conversation flowed for the hour as we awaited Tyler to tell us that Bella was needed.

**BELLA'S POV**

At exactly noon, Tyler was in the door way beckoning us. I stood and took Edward's hand in mine. The greeting Tyler gave was totally weird and I didn't want him trying something like that again.

We walked out of the room in a line almost, Tyler first, me second, Edward directly behind me, and the others in some other unknown order. I had hardly stepped into the large room before stopping short.

The crowd was, well, huge, to say the least.

"T-T-T-Tyler?" I whispered.

He turned around. "Hmmm?"

"You never said there would be this many," I swallowed the lump in my throat as I whispered the next word like it was something bad, "_people_." My eyes must have been as big as saucer as I looked at all the people lined up. They filled the entire second floor and the line continued all the way down the steps to the first. I couldn't tell how far out the line went from there.

"Relax, Bella. They're people, not aliens here to suck your brains out," Tyler joked. I shot him a look. He cleared his throat and he sobered up when he continued. "I didn't know how many people were going to be here Bella. I'm sorry I didn't give you a better warning before you came out here."

I started walking forward, head held high, determined more now than ever not to trip over some lady bug aimlessly wandering across the rug in the extremely large book store. Although, why it would be a lady bug, I didn't know. Knowing me, I'd be more likely to trip over thin air.

Edward kept close as Tyler led the six of us to the edge of the raised wooden platform with a backdrop that had all the covers of my books on it and a big poster on an easel with a picture of me on it. I sighed as I watched a man in the middle of the stage holding a microphone while he spoke.

"Welcome everyone. We have a very special treat for all of you today. But before I introduce our author, I'd like to tell you all a few rules to be sure that you all get your books signed before she needs to leave and to ensure safety. First, we ask that you all stay in front of the table. Second, we ask that you all not touch our author." I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh at that or cringe. "Third, she will only be signing one book per person. Fourth, she will only be signing her own books, so if you do not own one of hers, there are copies available for purchase. Fifth, she won't be able to personalize them with the number of people here, so we are sorry about that. And finally, once your book has been signed, please move on so that others can get theirs signed as well. Thank you.

"Now, without further ado, Miss Isabella Swan."

I took that as my very obvious cue to step on stage. The mysterious man whose name I didn't know put the microphone down on the table and I moved toward the seat. Unfortunately, my foot caught on the foot of the table and I stumbled forward, just barely catching myself on the chair. The entire crowd gasped, but over top of it all I could hear Emmett's booming laugh. Blushing, I picked up the microphone and flipped the switch so that it was on.

"Well, that's Emmett for you. If you can't laugh at yourself, he'll do it for you," I joked looking at him where he stood doubled over, sitting on the right edge of the stage. Everyone laughed at my pathetic attempt at getting over my embarrassment.

"You just make it easier, Bells!" Emmett called back.

"Well, I guess they've already given you the welcome speech and I'm sure none of you want to sit through that again, but I would just like to take a quick second to thank you all, so, thank you. Okay, now that that's over with, let's get started."

I was surprised when people were actually cheering at that, but just took my seat, picked up one of the twenty permanent markers and started signing my name in the books as the people passed.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I wished I could have been up on stage with Bella, if only to be just a bit closer to her, but I knew I could so I sat patiently awaiting the moment I'd get to hold her hand again. I watched as she signed book after book and chatted shortly with each person. Most were women, but there were a good number of men there too. She hadn't stopped blushing since she tripped on the stage and I was starting to worry that her face would be permanently tomato red. Not that I would mind, I loved how she looked when that blush flooded beneath her pale skin.

At around three, Alice disappeared and then returned 45 minutes later. She handed me two hotel key cards. "For you and Bella," she said. I was pretty sure she winked at me too, but it looked more like she just had a twitchy eye.

I returned to watch Bella as she laughed at compliments and smiled at everyone when handing them their books back. She was so happy and it was obvious that this was what she loved. I was sure that she wasn't all for the attention, but just knowing that people enjoyed her work was what she lived for.

By five o'clock the line was basically finished and so they got rid of the book signing posters and what not. Unfortunately, it was rather uneventful. No naked men running through Barnes & Noble with Bella's name tattooed on his rear or anything like that.

She walked over to where we all sat at the edge of the raised platform. It was a good two feet of the ground and Bella was in heels, so I didn't want her jump, and I didn't want to wait the whole three seconds it would take her to get down the steps, so I placed my hands on Bella's hips and lifted her off the platform. Her hands went to my shoulders to be sure and then remained there once I had her on the ground. I pulled her flat against me and wrapped my arms tightly around the waist.

"Sorry that took so long," she apologized.

I just crashed my lips to her and as they've done it the past, the immediately melded together. I slid my tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance, and she allowed me inside. I greedily attacked her mouth as I took in her flavor. Her arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me even closer. Time was frozen and I'd have filled it to have never moved again just I could remain lip-locked with Bella.

Unfortunately, I knew we were putting on a little bit of a show and there were a few reporters here who'd want to speak with Bella before she left. "I don't care how long it took, because getting that kiss in the end was worth it," I replied as I took a deep breath.

She smiled at me and I grinned back. Tyler tapped her on the shoulder then and he pulled Bella back onto the stage to the microphone. There weren't enough reporters there to need one, but Bella did get a little quiet when she was shy. But she didn't let go of my hand, instead pulling me up on stage with her. I grinned as I stood behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"So, I guess you all have questions," she stated confidently.

Questions were fired off at a rapid pace, but Bella hardly struggled to keep up and her witty charm or funny, sarcastic comments were always came through. Then the questions moved to our relationship and it would hardly suffice to say that all the reporters were surprised when we'd said we had only started officially dating a week ago and only met two weeks ago.

"Miss Swan, what would you say is the current status of your relationship with Mister Cullen?"

"Well, he's my boyfriend at the moment. Who knows where this will lead…"

"Where did you and Mister Cullen meet?"

"As I told you earlier, I live in a house with my best friends. One of them is _Mister Cullen's _brother and the other is his cousin, thus _Edward _naturally came to stay with us because he will be beginning his internship at a Port Angeles hospital in September."

And the questions seemed to go on forever until Tyler finally pulled the plug and we were allowed to leave, but not before an excessive number of pictures were snapped.

While we walked out of the building to the parking garage, Alice began to explain what we were doing tonight.

"We're going to that new club, _After Dark_," she told us. Bella visibly paled.

"Alice," my angel hissed.

"Yes?" Alice responded all too innocently.

"You know I don't like dancing."

"But Bella, you're great at it. It the only time you don't have three left feet!" Alice whined.

Bella growled something under her breath but conceded nonetheless. Of course, I then realized we were now walking the opposite direction.

"Um, aren't we going to drive?" I asked.

"Nope," Rosalie replied, popping the p.

"The club is right around the corner," Bella explained. I was getting the vibe that Bella was the only one who really remembered that I knew nothing about this area or the things that have happened to them anywhere beyond two weeks back.

**BELLA'S POV**

I now knew why I looked what I had called earlier "hott". We were going to a club to celebrate, just perfect. Since I'd met Alice and Rosalie, I'd gone out dancing a lot, and my dance skills weren't terrible. I mean, all you need to be able to do is shift your hips from side to side to the beat of the music. But, I knew they were pushing for me and Edward to get all up on each other. And while I did want that, very much so, and wasn't mad at Alice because she'd planned this, I was just annoyed that she'd suddenly sprung this on me.

We walked into _After Dark _without a problem. The bouncers knew us very well from our college days when they happened to work at the club _Blackout _which was just off campus.

The second we were through the door, the thump of the base hit my ear drums hard and I could already feel my body swaying to the music instinctively.

_Stupid instinct._

Edward's hand was snuggly in mine and I was ripped from his grasp when Rose and Alice pulled me away, the three of us making a mad, very unsafe dash for the dance floor. And why? Because _I Kissed A Girl _was playing. Unsurprisingly, almost every girl in the club was do a little sex bit with one of her girlfriends. Alice, Rose, and I were no different. Alice grinding her ass in me, me doing the same to Rose. Things like that were happening between us on the dance floor, and why? Because it made men drool. Emmett and Jasper had seen this time and time again and you could still see the dribble that slipped from their own mouths. Edward on the other hand, was practically running to us as his eyes didn't leave my body.

_Milkshake _began to play when the guys got to us and the three of us separated and approached our men. We weren't exactly dancing together. We were watching each other's bodies move as the beat propelled us.

Songs continued playing for maybe two or three. A few Sean Paul songs and PCD, as well as any song that would pulse through the speakers, through the floor and then up through your shoes and body. With each, we moved closer and closer until Edward hands were on my waist and mine were on his chest. I smirked at him and we locked lips, our movements stopping while our tongues took over the rhythm. It was indescribable, the way his lips moved on mine. It was almost too easy for us. And the way that he would instantly pull me to him, just as instinctually as my body had moved the second I heard the music.

Everything I ever did when it came to Edward in this relationship was spontaneous, instinctual. I hadn't planned out one move I'd made on him. Not even that first kiss that started it all after coming home from Seattle the last time. That wasn't how I'd planned it, at least.

When _Hot In Herre_ came on, as it did no matter what club you went to, Edward released my lips and placed his forehead on mine, staring deeply into my eyes with pink lips from the kissing we'd done and holding me directly against him. He began to move his hips back and forth, moving mine as well. And while we were directly against each other, the contact was so light that it could hardly be felt.

Then _Money Maker _came on.

_Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
I see you on my radar  
Don't you act like you dont hear  
She..._

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

I took his hands off of my hips and turned around so that my back was against his chest. I put his hands on my hips.

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
Don't worry about them haters  
Keep your nose up in the air

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

Shake shake shake your money maker  
Like you were shakin it for some paper  
Took your mama 9 months to make ya  
Might as well shake what ya mama gave ya

You ... you lookin good in them jeans  
I bet you look even better with me in between  
I keep my mind on my money, money on my mind  
But yous a hell of a distraction when you shake your behind  
I got * on my right side pourin some cups  
My whole hood is to my left and they aint giving a fuck

I was grinding my ass into him while he ground back into me.

So feel free to get lose and get carried away  
So by tomorrow you forgot what you was sayin today  
But don't forget about this feeling that im making you get  
And all the calories you burn from me making you sweat  
The mile high points you earn when we taking my jet  
And how everywhere you turn I'll be making you wet..

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
I see you on my radar  
Don't you act like you dont hear  
She...

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
Don't worry about them haters  
Keep your nose up in the air

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head forward. He got the idea and his lips moved to my neck, sucking so hard I was sure I already had a mark.

_  
Switch, switch, switch it from right to left and..  
Switch it till you running right out of breath and..  
Take a break until you ready again and..  
You can invite over as many friends as..  
Ya want to, but i really want you  
Just be thankful that Pharrell gave you somethin to bump to...HEYY  
Luda...Im at the top of my game  
You want my hands from the bottom to the top of your brain  
And I...just wanna take a lil ride on your curves  
And get erotic giving your body just what it deserves and.._

Let me give you some swimming lessons on the penis  
Backstroke, breaststroke, stroke of a genius...YUPP  
Call me the renaissance man  
Get up and i stay harder than a cinder block mannn....HEYY  
Im just a bedroom gangster  
And i been meanin to tell ya that i really must thank ya when ya…

I pressed into him harder and he moaned against my skin, causing me to shiver. He chuckled and again the vibration game me the chills.

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
I see you on my radar  
Don't you act like you dont hear  
She...

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
Don't worry about them haters  
Keep your nose up in the air

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

His hands that had been on my hips moved lower and more centered. They rested on my lower abdomen, just along the top of my panties. _THANK YOU ALICE AND ROSE! FUCKING GENIOUSES!_

Rock rock rock it and make it work girl  
Please dont stop it until it hurt girl  
You..you been lookin a little tipsy  
So if you could jus shake it a little this wayy  
See ima member of the BBC  
The original bread winna of DTP  
And you the center of attention thats distracting this war  
Cuz everybody in the camp is like OH MY GODD..she could

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
I see you on my radar  
Don't you act like you dont hear  
She...

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

Shake your money maker  
Like somebody boutta pay ya  
Don't worry about them haters  
Keep your nose up in the air

You know I got it  
If you want it, come get it  
Stand next to this money  
Like - ey ey ey

The song finished and Edward's lips were still on my neck. There would be no covering up that mark tomorrow unless I was wearing a scarf, and they'd know anyway.

And what else could come on, but Britney Spears' _Gimme More_…

_It's Britney Bitch  
I see you,  
And i just wanna dance with you_

I turned around and pulled my self as close to him as was possible. His arms locked around my waist.

Everytime they turn the lights down  
Just wanna go that extra mile for you  
You got my display of affection  
Feels like no one else in the room (but you)

We can get down like there's no one around  
We keep on rocking, we keep on rockin'  
Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing  
They keep watching, keep watchin'  
Feels like the the crowd was saying

His leg moved between my legs and my core was now rubbing against his thigh while I rubbed against what I could only presume was his very large, prominent erection.

Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more

The center of attention, even when we're up against the wall  
You got me in a crazy position (uh huh)  
If you're on a mission (ooh)  
You got my permission oh

We can get down like there's no one around  
We keep on rocking, we keep on rockin'  
Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing  
They keep watching, keep watchin'  
Feels like the the crowd was saying

We engaged in a passionate kiss while we 'danced'. I ground against him harshly and he reciprocated. I could feel the heat growing in my stomach.

Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more

I just can't control myself, more  
They want more?  
Well I'll give them more (ow!)

Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more  
Gimme Gimme more  
Gimme more  
Gimme gimme more

His hands moved down from where they were on my back to my ass and pulled me up higher and closer.

Gimme more gimme more  
Gimme more gimme more babe  
I just want more

I released his lips and my mouth traveled down his neck, nipping at the skin as I traveled downward. His top two buttons were left open and my lips moved there, my tongue taking a taste of the exposed skin.

Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme  
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme  
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme  
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme

"Let's get out of here," he whispered huskily in my ear.

I shivered for what must have been the thirty fourth time tonight. "Lead the way."

We separated and he adjusted himself before he started moving as quickly as the crowd would allow to the door, pulling me along by the hand. As soon as we were out, he put his arm around my waist and we all but sprinted to the parking garage to his car.

Once there, he pushed me against the car and we were once again pulled into a heated kiss, my body pressed between him and the back door of his car. I could feel every inch of him and couldn't help but be even more anxious than I'd been feeling since we started dancing up close and personal in the club. He opened the front door and broke his lips from mine. "In," was all he could say. He ran around to his side of the car and got inside. Both of us inside, he handed me a hotel key card.

I gave him directions as best as I could at the moment. My thinking wasn't perfectly clear, but could anyone blame me? Didn't think so.

Once there, we both got out of the car and we went inside. Once in the elevator, I pushed the button for the floor we'd be on, and then returned to Edward's lips. It was hardly enough but it was all we could do at the moment if we were going to refrain from fucking in the elevator.

Thankfully, we had to walk only seven steps to get to our door. I slid the card in and I swear it took way too long to unlock. The door slammed shut when Edward pushed me against it. My arms wrapped around his neck and his hands were down just below my ass. He lifted me and I locked my ankles behind him. I wasn't even sure if I was breathing anymore, or if the lightheadedness was Edward's fault, but it didn't matter anymore.

He carried me over to the bed and nearly threw me down on the quilt. His lips broke away from mine and we both panted while we looked into each others eyes.

"You sure?" he asked between shallow breaths.

"Not a doubt in my mind," I somehow managed.

I moved myself up to the headboard and he began moving up toward me. When he was near enough, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him hard. He collapsed on top of me and I loved the feel of his body weight on my own.

We returned to kissing and I began unbuttoning his shirt, unsuccessfully. I was too distracted.

"Damn buttons," I cursed against his lips. I finally managed to unbutton them all. I got up on my knees, pushing him back so he was in the same position, facing me. I broke my lips from his and moved my hands to his shoulders and took in his chiseled chest and well constructed abs. So lickable.

My lips moved down and continued from where they were kissed during the club, exploring his torso on nothing other than what his responses to each kiss, suck, or lick told me he liked. My hands took his belt buckle as I looked into his eyes. His lips moved to my jaw line and began their own exploration while unbuckled the belt. I unbuttoned the top of jeans and slowly slid down the zipper. He separated himself from me completely and got off the bed, removing his socks, shoes, and pants. His boxers remained in place. When I made to remove them he shook his head.

"Not yet. You've still got far too many clothes on."

Mine were much easier to remove, but he was cruel. He returned to kneel directly in front of me and his hands went to the sides of my legs while he kissed and nipped along the v-neck of my dress. When he finished one side, he went to the start of the other. Shoulder to just above my breasts, shoulder to just above my breasts. Finally, when he reached the very center of the V, he kissed the skin and licked the beads of sweat that had formed there. The hands that were on the sides of my legs slowly traveled up my sides, brushing up ever so lightly. They slid over the lacy sides of my thong, to which I was almost positive he growled, bringing the dress up with it. He was moving so slowly, but by the look in his eyes, I knew I wouldn't be able to speed him up.

His hands continued up, moving along my curves and hit when he was high enough, just below my breasts, I raised my arms over my head and he pulled the dress from my body completely. He pushed me back and I fell, kicking my legs out in front of me so that I was flat on my back. He removed my silver heels and then kissed his way up each of my legs. He skipped where I wished he would have just started and began again at the top of my panties. His tongue slid out and licked my flat stomach until his tongue reached the center of my bra.

"May I?" he asked. I arched my back as an answer and his hands slid behind me to unclasp the bra. Slowly he slid the straps from my shoulders and then pulled it from my body. He gazed intently at my almost naked body the way that I did with his now. "Beautiful," he said, the predatory look in his eyes disappearing for a short second before it came back with a vengeance. His eyes were a dark green and the desire was evident.

I could feel myself grow wetter than ever as I thought of all the things he could do to me, the things I knew he would do to me.

His hands moved to my breasts as he sat between my legs. His lips were again sucking on any available skin, which was a lot, and his hands were massaging my pert breasts. He removed a hand and blew on the exposed nipple. His breath was cool, but that wasn't what caused it to become erect. He lowered his lips and began sucking on it. His tongue swirled around it while I tried to continue to breathe. His other fingers worked on the unattended nipple. I could feel the pressure building in me. It had been building for far too long. I knew I was getting close.

Then he moved back and I growled. Yes, he wasn't the only one who growled. His hands were on my hips, his fingers hooked into my thong. He removed it faster than any of my other clothing items. His smile was wicked as he looked at me and if I wasn't dying for him to do what I was pretty sure he was about to do, I'd have been embarrassed.

His head was then between my legs and he kissed the inside of each of my thighs before his lips brushed my wet lips. His tongue licked my slit and I moaned his name, my hips bucking forward, as I came within a step of the edge.

"Yes Bella?" The words vibrated against me and I came. "Fuck, Bella," he moaned in response as I came on his face. "I'd hardly even started." He lapped at the juices that spilled and I rode out my waves of pleasure while the pressure already started to build again. His tongue then slid into me and the rush was…wow.

"Edward…god yes," I cried out as he did this. Thrust in and out and in and out. His fingers found my clit and worked on it, bringing me to a second climax before I'd hardly recovered from the first. I screamed out as my hands flew to his head as I once again came on his face.

He moved back up my body and his mouth found mine. I could taste myself on him and for some reason I didn't find it disgusting in any way. He suddenly inserted two fingers into me and I cried out into his mouth. I was beyond words at that point.

They moved to stretch me and I somehow formed the coherent question in my mind of 'how the hell does he already have me near my next orgasm before I'm barely over my previous?' I was so damn close.

"Edward. I need you. Now." He ripped his boxers off of his body and was between my legs erect and ready. "Fuck me."

His head was at my entrance, and with one look in my eyes, he thrust inside me. He was huge and, well, I definitely wasn't.

"Shit. Bella…you're so…tight," he muttered. He allowed me to adjust for a moment before he pulled back and thrust again. Of course I came again, my walls clamping down on him and he moaned. His head dropped to my shoulder as he stayed still momentarily. I bucked my hips and began moving again, thrusting in, pulling back, and then thrusting further than the last time, my rhythm matching up to his.

"Faster…harder, Edward," I begged.

He pulled out all the way and thrust in to the hilt. I screamed his name as the pressure began to build up faster and faster. His pace had quickened as I'd asked and his mouth moved to my ear. "Fuck…Bella…I'm close."

"Then come with me," I whispered to him as he sent me over the edge. Sure, it'd been a long while since I'd gone all the way with a guy, but to give me four in one fuck was beyond possible in my book. My walls milked him as he thrust twice more before falling over the edge, spilling into me. He cried my name and then a profanity or two, before collapsing on me. I smiled as he rolled off on me and pulled me with him so we remained connected.

He kissed my forehead and breathed deeply. "That was… fuck I can't even describe it."

I giggled. "I'm the famous writer and I can't even find the words for it." How I could form that entire sentence was beyond me.

Edward pulled out of me and I whimpered at the loss of him inside me. He tucked me into his side and whispered, "Sleep Bella."

It was hot in the room, so I didn't feel the need to get under the covers. I could feel my eyes closing and my energy fully drained. Suddenly, Edward cursed under his breath.

"What?" I mumbled incoherently.

"We didn't use a condom," he answered, slightly panicked.

"Birth control, Edward. Birth control," I replied. I was so close to sleep that I couldn't even open my eyes. "Now sleep."

**a/n: okay, so i know some of you are probably like why the hell did she skip through an entire week of the story and why were Edward and Bella hardly together in those days...well, this lovely little lemon is why...**

**NOW PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE BECAUSE IT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY AND MAKE ME WANT TO WRITE MORE!!!!!!!**


	13. Don't Let Me Hit The Ground

**a/n: since you've all been such good little duckies, i've decided to update this tonight. Now, please, don't expect a lemon every chapter, because, after all, I'm not exactly out of my teen years. Do you guys honestly want to corrupt my fourteen year old brain and my flashdrive just to get your lemons? Okay, that was a stupid question, of course you do. But, that's beside the point. I'll try to give you as many as I can, but I can't make promises. However, the more reviews i get, the better your chances are at a lemon, so, take that!**

Dedication: to my favoritest reviewer **kelsieeee **with **12 reviews...** Love you very very much and hope you're happy with your dedication!

Okay, so one last thing. Yes, if you really want to rack up your review points, you can go back to previous chapters that you didn't review thus far and submit one and it will count. Remember, the more reviews i get, the happier i'll be and the better the next post!

**EDWARD'S POV**

(This scene appears at the request of **Topaz Fireheart Storm **so please, everyone make sure to send your thanks to this rockin' reader in your own reviews because I wasn't going to write this scene and then about 20 minutes after saying that to her…at least I'm pretty sure it's a her… I changed my mind because I realized that, yes, this is my story, but sometimes it's just as important to satisfy your readers as it is to get your plot working. ENJOY!)

I listened to Britney Spear's lyrics, or at least attempted too, but Bella was too tempting for me to even focus on my breathing. I wanted more at this moment, needed more. The song came to an end and I leaned my head toward her ear, trying to get out my sentence while she sucked on the skin of my chest.

"Let's get out of here," I whispered. My voice was husky. It had never sounded quite like this before, but how could it not when I had this beautiful woman rubbing her body against my own as her lips toyed with me.

She shivered against me, replying, "Lead the way."

I adjusted myself as I took her hand and pulled her through the crowd as quickly as the packed club would allow. When my feet hit the sidewalk, I pulled Bella to my side and held her tightly as we made our way to the parking garage as quickly as Bella's clumsiness would permit.

I pushed her against the back door of my car and attacked her lips, covering them with my own in a heated kiss. I could feel every inch of her curves as they melded against my body. I opened the passenger door beside me and ushered Bella in, breaking my lips away from hers and rushing into my own seat on the other side.

I handed her the hotel key card that I'd been given by Alice and Bella directed me to the hotel as I sped through the unfamiliar Seattle streets. I couldn't have been more thankful that it wasn't far.

Once I was parked, we rushed inside, straight into the elevator and Bella hit the button for the floor the key said we were on. My lips were back on hers instantly and I wished I could have gone further, but I knew that if I could hold off for another thirty seconds we'd be in the privacy of the room.

The room was directly beside the elevator and once it was unlocked, I pulled Bella inside, slamming the door shut by pushing her up against the white painted metal. With her arms around my neck, I placed my hands just bellow her pert ass and lifted her. She locked her ankles behind my back and I pulled her from the wall, carrying over to the bed.

I threw her to the plush quilt, my carnal male desires drawing on my better judgment and knowledge of a woman's fragility. I broke my lips from hers and breathed hard, asking her for the permission I was pretty sure I already had by the look in her eyes. Still, I needed her to verbally say yes, I couldn't do this otherwise.

Much to my relief, she answered, "Not a doubt in my mind." It very easily the answer I needed as I returned to what I was planning to do.

Bella pulled herself up to the headboard and I followed her predatorily. When I was within an arm's length, she grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me on top of her. Surprised, I wasn't able to catch my own weight, but she moaned at the contact so I allowed it, this time.

Her lips and mine joined again as she fumbled with the buttons on my shirt. "Damn buttons," she muttered in frustration. Finally, she had them all separated and the shirt hung open. She pulled back and got up on her knees and put me into the same position so we were face to face and chest to chest. Her ragged breathing picked up as she looked my chest over and her tongue darted across own lips subconsciously.

Her hands on my shoulders, she slid the material off and it fell behind me. I tossed it off the bed as her lips traveled my torso the way they had been teasing we while we were still at the club. Every moan, curse, or hiss elicited a repeat of the previous nip, lick, or kiss. She responded to each of my desires that I hadn't known were there.

When her hands grabbed my belt buckle, she looked into my eyes. I silently conveyed the message for her to continue, and as she did, my lips began to draw along her jaw line. She unbuttoned my jeans and pulled the zipper down. I pulled away and slipped the pants off as well as my socks and shoes, once again leaving the offending clothing on the floor. I left my boxers on, and when Bella went to remove them, I stopped her.

"Not yet. You've still got far too many clothes on," I told her. She watched me carefully as I took my time to repay her small tortures. Her skin glistened with sweat as I continued my ministrations and when I reached the dip between her breasts, my tongue slid out licked up the salty liquid.

My hands began to move up the sides of her legs, slowly, torturously. I pulled the dress up with them and involuntarily growled as my fingers slid over the material of her panties which I just _knew_ was lace. I continued upward, and once I was high enough, she lifted her arms above her head and I slipped the dress from her body.

I lightly pushed her backward and she landed on her back. Her legs fell out from beneath and she laid there before me, her hair splayed out around her head on the pillow. I removed her heels and planted kisses on her legs as I moved up her body. I skipped over the lacy blue thong and started directly at the top of the tempting panties. My tongue slid out against her skin and I slid it all the way up her perfectly flat stomach to the center of her bra. Her muscles twitched beneath me in pleasure.

"May I?" I asked. Her back arched and I internally groaned at the sight as my hands slid beneath her to unhook one of the few articles of clothing which still hid what I was positive was a perfect body. I gazed intently at her body like she had mine after removing it and tossing it where it belonged, on the floor with the rest of our clothing. "Beautiful," I said. I could feel my predatory instincts flooding my mind once again. The desire was evident in her eyes as well.

I could smell her arousal and my mouth watered. I wanted more, for it to be even more obvious than it was now.

My mouth covered every inch of the expanse of available skin and my hands massaged her precious breasts. I blew across her nipple and then sucked on it, eliciting sounds from her that music couldn't compare to. Her breathing was getting faster and I pulled away. She growled and if we were under different circumstances, I might have laughed at the sound which seemed so unnatural coming from Bella.

My hands were at her hips instantly and they made the final piece of clothing on her body disappear. I smiled wickedly as I realized exactly what Alice and Rosalie had made Bella do last weekend. They were owed a thank you.

I kissed the inside of each of her thighs and my lips brushed her wet lips. I listened to her moan my name as my tongue slid along her slit, her hips bucking forward toward my face. Delicious. She was absolutely, freakin', perfectly delicious.

I answered her calling out of my name, "Yes Bella?" and the vibrations of my lips against her skin caused her to come. "Fuck Bella," I moaned in surprise. "I'd hardly even started." I licked up each drop of the juices, unable to get enough, while she rode out waves of pleasure.

My tongue slid into her and she continued with her small words here and there as well as the number of times when my name slipped passed her lips. I worked on her clit with my fingers and it wasn't long before she climaxed for a second time.

I moved up her body and my mouth attached to a different set of lips, our tongues meeting instantly. While she was distracted, I slipped two fingers into her and she cried out into surprise, my mouth catching her sounds.

"Edward. I need you. Now." Her words were spoken with such an urgency that I didn't bother to continue before I ripped my boxers off and positioned my throbbing erection between her spread legs. "Fuck me," she ordered.

With one look in her eyes, I thrust inside, supporting my weight on my arms, and moaned. "Shit. Bella…you're so…tight," I muttered. I allowed her walls to adjust to my size, a lot bigger than the average size of the male anatomy, before I thrust again. I knew she was already close, and this time wasn't surprised as she came again. On the other hand, I wasn't exactly ready for the feeling of her clamping down on me and I moaned again, my head dropping down to her shoulder as I focused on lasting a little while longer because I was so ready to just cum right then and there.

Bella's hips bucked against me and I took this as my cue to continue. Our rhythm matched up perfectly, the way it had in the club, and she met each and every thrust.

"Faster…harder, Edward," she begged.

I complied, pulling out before plunging back in as far as possible. She screamed out my name and I moved my mouth to her ear. "Fuck…Bella…I'm close."

"Then come with me," she whispered as she came one last time. She milked me as I thrust twice more and finally gave out, falling over the edge, spilling into Bella, marking her already as mine.

Her name slipped from my lips as I tried to hold my self up and I cursed as I was finally unable to hold my own weight, collapsing onto Bella. I rolled off of her as quickly as I could, but pulled her on top of me, not daring to pull out of her just yet.

I kissed her sweat-coated brow. "That was…fuck I can't even describe it."

She giggled. "I'm the famous writer and I can't even find the words for it."

I finally pulled out of her and she whimpered at the loss. I wasn't too keen on it either, but I could see the sleep pulling on her eyes. I tucked her into my side as we lay on top of the covers. "Sleep Bella."

I lay there as her breathing slowed and replayed the evening over in my head, until one detail caught my attention. One _very _important detail.

"Shit."

"What?" Bella asked sleepily.

"We didn't use a condom," I answered, panicked.

"Birth control, Edward. Birth control," she responded. "Now sleep," were her final words before her breathing evened out perfectly and her body relaxed completely.

I fell into a light sleep not long later, dreaming of Bella and me the first day we met, only to be awoken by Bella's cell phone ringing. I carefully slipped away from her and she frowned as she reached around the bed for me. I smiled as I answered it.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"_Edward? It's Alice. Where are you guys?"_

I blushed. "At the hotel room."

"_Oh," _she answered. Then it must have dawned on her. _**"Oooohhh…"**_

"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"_Well then, by all means, please continue." _The line went dead seconds later. I shivered in the now cool air and could see Bella shiver in her sleep. I pulled back the covers, tossing the quilt to the end of the bed and then folding it before slipping Bella's body under the covers. I returned to my place and wrapped my arms around her. She snuggled into me and hummed in pleasure, her smile returning.

My eyes slid closed and sleep overcame me once again.

**BELLA'S POV**

Have you ever not wanted to open your eyes because you're having the best dream ever, and then you feel the warm, naked body next to you which you're curled into the side of and you realize you're not dreaming, but in fact living the _best fucking reality_ ever? Yeah, I was having one of those moments.

Edward's arm was tightly wrapped around my waist as he held me to his side. He was sleeping flat on his back while my arm lay across his waist and my head lay on his shoulder. My hair covered my face and skewed my view of his perfection, and even still he looked perfect. The room was dark, hardly lit by the light which slipped through the curtain of the unfamiliar hotel room. But, I didn't care about the room right now or the time or the bothersome light. How could I when I could feel Edward skin against mine as he slept peacefully.

I didn't dare move a millimeter other than to brush my hair from my vision so I could commit to memory how Edward looked in this moment. His lips parted gently as he breathed, his eyes softly closed, hiding the emerald orbs, his hair messier than I'd ever seen it. His entire face whispered serenity. His chest rose and fell with his even breaths and my cheek pressed against his shoulder which shifted with each breath.

The sheet was pulled up to our shoulders, the quilt folded at the end of the bed. I briefly wondered when Edward had gotten up and tucked us in, but all that mattered to me was that he cared enough to make sure I was comfortable. I carefully removed my arm from his waist and placed my hand on his chest over his heart. His heartbeat was rhythmical, but perfectly calm.

I lay still and watched, curious as to whether or not he was dreaming about something, and if so, then what. I closed my eyes and rested while he continued to sleep, opening them every so often when Edward's breathing pattern would change. His heart continued to beat steadily beneath my palm.

Absentmindedly, my index finger of the hand on his chest drew small circles where they rest, his warm skin welcoming my touch. I heard a soft chuckle and looked up into the newly opened eyes of my own sleeping beauty.

"Good morning," I whispered, as if trying to keep from disturbing the peace of the room. I pulled my face away slightly to kiss his shoulder before replacing it where it had been, directly over the kiss.

"I'd say it is," he replied softly. The arm he had wrapped around me pulled me closer into his side where my body melded perfectly.

"Undoubtedly," I answered.

He chuckled again. "How are you?" he asked, suddenly tentative.

I didn't even need to think before I answered. "Fantastic, although I have to wonder if I'm still dreaming."

"You are definitely awake my dear, no dream could do you such justice," he responded, leaning in to kiss my forehead as I blushed for the first time since I awoke this morning.

"I can definitely say the same for you." I smiled up at him. My eyes were met with the crooked grin I'd begun to love so much in the past two weeks. "Can you believe I've only known you for two weeks?" I asked suddenly, but still in a serene tone.

He shook his head, his gaze remaining either on my face or the ceiling. "It's felt far longer."

I nodded against his shoulder. "I agree."

We lay in a comfortable silence, enjoying the feeling of just being together without interruption or the outside world. It was an oddity, the way we could just be comfortable relax in each other's arms without a second thought. I mean, we had just had sex the prior evening and now we were lying naked in the bed in a hotel room. How could one be comfortable to just have a short conversation or remain in the quiet while like this? I didn't know, but I was content and I was positive Edward was as well, and that was all that mattered to me at the moment.

**EDWARD'S POV**

My arm wrapped around Bella's waist, I held her tightly, afraid that any moment now she'd decide to get up and leave for better things. I wasn't sure why I was suddenly fearful of this, but maybe it was just me saddening realizing how much she already meant to me. I mean, granted, I'd been in bed with Tanya before without caring, but this was different. I wanted to do right by Bella, and last night was all about her pleasure, never the way it had ever been with Tanya. Just hearing Bella moan my name had pulled me to the edge, but I held off until I couldn't keep from falling any longer.

It was frightening how close, how comfortable, I was with this woman. She was nothing like you'd expect. She was different and real and had so many different depths to her that I knew what I'd been given thus far was just the tip of the iceberg. I'd hardly scratched the surface, but I had time to dig deeper, and I'd be doing so gladly. Her index finger continued to trace patterns on my bare chest and the contact caused my skin to tickle. I chuckled again.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked. We'd spoken in such soft, delicate voices since we'd awoken. It was so beautiful, so prefect, to hear the daintiness of her tinkling voice.

"Your finger is tickling me," I admitted. She immediately stopped and pulled her hand back, placing her arm along her side, her hand resting on her thigh. I frowned. "What'd you do that for?"

"You said it was tickling you." Her brows furrowed in confusion.

I smiled and reached out with my free arm to pull her hand back to my chest. I placed it back to where it was and held it in place. "I never asked you to stop, did I?" I asked.

She shook her head against my shoulder. "I just assumed…"

I kissed her lips for the first time since we'd fallen asleep last night. It was sweet and short, but the electricity still flowed between as it had since our first touch. "Assumptions often lead you to the wrong conclusions." She kissed my shoulder again as she had earlier and sighed what I hoped was happily as she once again began tracing circles on my bare skin. "What are you thinking about?" I asked.

She smiled up at me. "How perfect this is, right now," she replied, blushing a bit and burying her face into my shoulder, the heat of her skin increased. I chuckled, shaking her a bit.

"Your blush is beautiful Bella. Why you'd hide it, I'll never know."

"It's automatic," she answered as she slowly pulled from her hiding place. I watched as she did, catching sight of the color that tinged her cheeks. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," I answered easily.

She didn't press me, but merely returned to the contemplative quiet. I resumed my thoughts from earlier, but my stomach grumbled and I knew I'd need something to eat soon. We hadn't eaten any dinner last night. We were going to get something at the club, but I got completely absorbed in Bella last night and well, you know the rest.

She giggled. "Someone needs breakfast."

"It's a shame. I was rather content right here, but we'll need to get something in the both of us or we'll have no strength for the rest of the day."

"Do we have plans for today?" Bella asked as I turned to face her fully. Now, face to face, chest to chest, I leaned forward.

"We don't, but surely there's something we can do here or we can drive back home." I leaned in to kiss her, making it quick because, knowing my stomach, it'd gladly interrupt us again if it meant it'd be fed.

I got up from the bed, stretching for a second as my muscles retaliated, only vaguely aware at the moment that I was still, in fact, completely nude. Yes, I knew very well that I had no clothing, but it wasn't in the forefront of my mind. When I heard Bella gasp, I turned and grinned at her. I was never embarrassed by something like this; I supposed that was what medical school did to you. On the other hand, the look of Bella's bare shoulders and leg that were left uncovered by the sheet as she sat up had me feeling a little warm. Her hair was voluminous and tangled and I knew it was all my fault. Her lips were pinker and more swollen than usual, but I knew I had to think of other things because I was not going to have another simple morning romp with her.

_Going to do right by her, going to do right by her… _I chanted in my head as I grabbed my boxers off the floor and put them on. I looked around and saw a small suitcase on the chair at the desk in the room. I assumed Alice had packed it up for us and brought it up here when she check us in, which I knew must have been when she'd disappeared from Bella's book signing.

I traveled over and laid the suitcase on the floor before opening it. There were two canvas bags, one marked _Edward_ and the other marked _Bella_. I took mine, which was much smaller than Bella's, before pulling Bella's out for her and handing it over, still chanting my mantra as I tried to remain composed.

She took it and placed it beside her. "You can shower first if you'd like," I offered.

She nodded. "I'd like that, thanks." She was about to get up from the bed, but stopped herself. She bit her lip as she searched the room. "Um…"

I knew what she was thinking and turned around to grab her clothes when I saw her silk blue robe in the bottom of the suitcase. _Didn't see that before._

I picked it up and brought it over to her. Her eyes were locked on mine as I held it for her so she could slip it on without dropping the sheet. I knew Bella was very self conscious about herself, especially when people looked at her. While I didn't mind if her eyes were looking at my naked form, I knew she would squirm under my own gaze. I respected that. It wasn't as if she didn't want me to look, it was just that she wasn't fully confident about her self all the time.

She kissed me again. "Thank you," she said against my lips, lingering there before reluctantly pulling away and taking the bag with her into the bathroom. I sat on the bed, turned on the TV, and flipped on the bedside lamp to make the room just a bit clearer than it was. It was a cloudy Seattle morning, and the news channel I'd found confirmed it as such. I watched news about all the different things going on nearby, nothing particularly interesting. There were no murderers on the loose, no bank robberies, not even a car jacking. I sighed. It was a slow news day.

I heard Bella's soft voice from the bathroom as she sang a soft song sweetly. I wasn't sure what it was. I didn't even know if she had made it or if the words were even real, but the sound of her singing was beautiful nevertheless. It sounded like a chorus of angels were having a choral performance in the bathroom, and I was their single audience member.

It didn't take long before the water shut off, and five minutes later, Bella came out of the bathroom in khaki Capri pants and a t-shirt with a wide v-neck and a jeweled design. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and she had a smile on her face. She gave me yet another kiss and I could taste the mint of the toothpaste she'd used. She dropped her own bag back on the desk and bent over to continue drying her hair.

_Going to do right by her, going to do right by her… _I continued to chant as I dashed toward the bathroom. It didn't take me long to by in and out. I didn't even need a cold shower! A feat for which I gave myself a pat on the back and a round of applause, though the applause could only be heard within my head.

I dressed in the khaki shorts and the snug black t-shirt Alice had packed for me, along with the Adidas sneakers. I ran my fingers through my wet hair because it looked ridiculous when it was flat from the water. At least it looked better when it was wild, like before I'd entered the shower. Apparently, me and sex hair? We meshed.

I left the bathroom after brushing my own teeth to see Bella sitting on the edge of our messed up bed with her still wet hair back in a ponytail and her feet in a pair of running sneakers as well. Our clothing which had been discarded last night was now packed away in the suitcase and Bella was absorbed in the TV show she was watching. She looked up when I sat beside her.

I grinned. "So, you know this area better than I do. Where to?"

"Well, first we should probably check out, then we can throw our stuff in the car and go for some breakfast." My stomach growled in agreement and we both laughed. "That thing has a life of its own."

"Yes, it does." I stood and took her hand in mine as I put my canvas bag beside Bella's in the suitcase. She zipped it closed and I took the handle, rolling it behind us as we left the room behind us. It took us all of ten minutes to check out and then we threw our things in my car which was in the paring lot before she directed me to a nearby coffee shop.

**BELLA'S POV**

"Pull over right here," I instructed and Edward did as I said, pulling into the open parking space right in front of the coffee shop. It was a cute little place called _Itty Bitty Barista_. On days where I was in Seattle, Angela and I would often meet up here during her breaks. We'd spend about an hour here and then I'd go back with her to the Crowley Publishing office and we'd talk for hours while I hid from Tyler on the floor behind her desk.

I got out of the car slowly, my muscles sore from last night's activities, as did Edward, and we walked into the small, comfortable shop. There were two couches in the back with a separate chair for lounging, and then there were tables and chairs in the front. Edward and I got in line and just as we were at the front of the line, my phone rang. I asked Edward to get me a small coffee with two sugars and milk and a bagel with cream cheese before excusing myself to answer my call outside.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Bella, it's Tyler."_

"Oh, hey Tyler." I leaned forward against Edward's car, my forehead resting on the silver painted metal while I close my eyes and listened. I heard the bells chime behind me as someone opened the door of the coffee shop. They were entering. A few seconds later, a couple walked out. I listened to Tyler ramble on about how well the book signing went and how many more books we sold because of it as well. He also told me how many newspapers I had an article in and which ones I just _had _read.

"That's great Tyler. Is there anything else?" I was being a little impatient, I'd admit, but I had Edward inside and I wanted to go back to him and my breakfast before Tyler talked my ear off.

"_Yeah, your shoot and interview are about two weeks away. Next Thursday. Be here by nine for make up artists, stylists, and wardrobe to get you ready. They'll interview you after the spread."_

"Okay. Sounds good. Bye." I didn't wait for a response. I simply shut my phone and walked back into the shop. I looked for Edward, only to see a corn silk blonde woman all over him. The blonde looked vaguely familiar. It all snapped into place the second I heard her revolting voice.

"Edward," she purred, or at least tried to. "That's a very old fashioned name."

"I thought so too," I said as I hooked my arm around Edward's waist and he returned the gesture from where he stood in front of the counter. "Lauren," I sneered.

She smirked. "Bella," she reciprocated in much the same manner.

"How are you? It's been such a wonderfully long time since I've last run into you." My voice was excessively cheery, but I hated her.

"I've been fantastic. Jacob really has been great to me," she answered, shooting me a pointed look. Ha! She thought that would kill me right now. She really needed to get a clue that while I had been truly upset back then, at this moment, I was perfectly content with Edward and very glad that she'd stolen Jake from me nearly three years ago. I'd never have had a chance with Edward right now if not for her.

"I see you're being so good to him too. Coming on to my boyfriend," I scolded with a snort. "Yes, so good to him."

She smirked. "Better to him than you were."

I laughed at her. "Please, no one could be worse than you. What possessed the man to choose you is beyond me."

She not so subtly flashed her ring at me. "Proposed just two nights ago."

I smirked this time, knowingly. I'd decided that I didn't care anymore what Jacob did or didn't deserve after talking to Seth. If Seth wasn't happy with him, then I could give into being at him too. So the next day, I took my ring from where it was in my desk, preserved in its velvet box, and mailed it back to him with a letter and a few old pictures and mementos I no longer wanted within my sight. I kept some things, but others were just unappealing memories.

"Who would have thought Jake would recycle my ring?" I mused, my voice saccharine.

Lauren gasped as she stared at the object, as if it was suddenly burning a hole through her finger. "No, no. That's not true. Jake wouldn't do that. He said you never even gave him the ring back."

Edward stiffened beside me but I rubbed his back to try and reassure him. I couldn't stop myself. I really was bitter toward her. I'd never admitted it before, but I would do so now. She had been a terribly cold person any time we ran into each other on campus or around Seattle. "Oh, he didn't tell you. I sent it back to him on Tuesday. I found someone I'd much rather be with, someone who I'd be with without a second thought." The words left my mouth before I even had the chance to comprehend what I was saying. I needed one of those t-shirts that say _**WARNING: **__mouth functions faster than brain._

I was surprised when Edward actually relaxed at my words and moved behind me to wrap his arms around me and pull me back against him. He rested his chin on my head after quickly kissing my hair. I heard him take a heavy breath in and let out a satisfied hum. I wondered what had him suddenly satisfied.

"Well, Jake only gave it to me because he knew I was the one the ring belonged to all along," she reasoned, but we both knew she was losing this battle.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Hun. As for me, I think he's just too cheep to buy you your own ring."

She frowned and became defensive. "He's not cheep! He's working in mechanics. It takes time to reach the top where the big money is. And you're one to talk Miss All-My-Clothes-Are-From-Target."

"Sweetie, look at the difference between us. Currently, I'm the one wearing clothes that are from the top lines, the pants alone cost two hundred. And you, well, your outfit is off the rack from Wal-Mart." I was secretly thanking Alice for packing one of my designer outfits (and also my Birth Control pills, but that was totally beside the point) that she'd gotten at a sale price (which is like twice the price of what a similar one would have at Nordstrom) thanks to her connections. There was a jacket that came with the outfit, but it was too warm to wear it. I was pretty sure that's why Alice hadn't packed it. "Then, there's my boyfriend, the doctor, and your fiancé, the mechanic who can't buy you your own engagement ring."

She glared. "Whatever. Last I recall, you were some pathetic little writer who'd just gotten published and who hardly had a sale."

I once again snorted, quite unladylike. "Have you checked the papers?" I asked, picking up the nearest one and showing her the front page where the start of the article was with a picture of me signing books. "Read 'em and weep."

She ripped the newspaper from my hand and began reading it quickly. "What the…" She opened it up and continued reading the inside article. I caught a glimpse of a picture of Edward and I wrapped in each other's arms on the stage while I answered questions. "No fucking way!"

"Way!" I bragged. As if she hadn't flaunted everything she'd had back in college.

"Here you are," Jeff said from behind the counter as he placed mine and Edward's breakfast and coffees at the edge.

"Thanks," I said, taking the coffees while Edward released me to grab the food. "Oh, and by the way Lauren, one of my best friends is in mechanics. She happens to be a top car designer for BMW at their American head quarters in Port Angeles. She's almost finished with her own car design plans to start up her own car company, and she has the money to do it without a problem. And on top of it, she's got brains and supermodel looks, two things you definitely don't have."

With that, I turned on my heel and walked over to the tables at the front of the little barista, sitting down at the empty own against the wall. Edward took the seat across from me and placed my bagel in front of me. I handed him his coffee. Immediately, he moved his chair so that he was right next to me and leaned in to kiss me. It was soft, tender, like he was trying to calm me. But I think he lost himself in the kiss and his tongue swept into my already parted mouth, deepening it. I pulled back, pecking him chastely on the lips before smiling.

"Sorry," I apologized. "That was awfully rude of me, wasn't it?"

"I rather liked the fury. Did you know you're gorgeous when you're angry?" He chuckled at my blush.

"I didn't know that, but thank you."

"No, thank you."

"For what?"

"Don't know, actually."

I giggled before sighing. "God, I don't know what came over me."

"Neither do I, but then again, it was incredible. The way you just stood up to her. You were so strong, so confident, so…not my bashful little Bella. I really liked it."

I playfully smacked his shoulder. "I have been known to come out of my shell sometimes."

I was pretty sure he mumbled something like "Thank god you did last night" for which he earned another playfully little slap. Suddenly his eyes became serious as he locked his gaze to mine. I stared into the green emerald irises and wondered why it felt like I could see his entire being swimming in the color. I wondered if he could see the same in mine. "Did you mean it?"

"What?" I asked. His voice was soft and so was mine. It was as if we were back in the hotel room, lying in bed again, with me curled up into his side as we spoke.

"That you'd much rather be with me?" he asked. "That you'd be with me without a second thought?"

I answered with a timid yes. He grinned and kissed me deeply before whispering the words, "Good, because I feel the same," against my lips and returning to the kiss.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I was surprised to meet the woman who had caused Bella such heartache. I was even more surprised to see Bella stand up to her. I was not too happy to hear that Bella still held onto the ring, but when she told Lauren that she'd returned the ring on Tuesday because she found someone else she'd much rather be with and would be with without a second thought, I relaxed instantly and realized I needed to be closer. I'd hoped that she meant that, because if she hadn't, I'd have been sorely disappointed. It was one of the few things I'd realized since I awoke this morning. I wasn't quite sure what to call it. I wasn't in love, not yet, I was pretty sure about that, or maybe I was, but I knew that I wanted to be with Bella now more than anyone ever before.

And surprisingly, I wasn't afraid.

After our breakfast, we explored Seattle a little bit. She brought me into the Crowley Publishing office where she walked over to a sweet looking woman behind a counter. Bella whispered a few things to the girl and her eyes shot up at mine. I couldn't read her lips as she spoke in a fury of hushed murmurs.

"Edward," Bella sang, summoning me from where I sat on the sofa.

"Yes?" I asked as I approached them.

"Edward, this is one of my greatest friends, Angela Weber soon-to-be-Cheney." I extended my hand to shake hers and she smiled up at me.

"A pleasure to meet you, Angela."

"Likewise," she answered.

"She's engaged to Ben, the co-author of the book you were reading the other day," Bella continued. I recalled the day we sat in her room while she typed and I read.

"Ah, yes. I remember. Great book," I mused. "Congratulations on hooking a good one."

The women laughed as I flashed them both a crooked grin. Bella's hand twined into mine and I felt electricity pulsing into my skin. I loved the feeling.

"Thank you," she said between laughs. Conversation flowed easily, and when Tyler saw us here, he sneered at me while offering Bella a proper greeting. I didn't care, as long as he treated Bella with respect, all was fine and dandy.

"Well," Bella sighed, looking at the time on her cell phone. "I suppose we need to get going if we want to get back home before sun down."

I nodded. "Once again, it was a pleasure," I said to Angela, taking her hand in mine and kissing the back of it. She blushed and Bella kissed my cheek. "Until time."

"See you soon, Ange," Bella said as we both traveled out of the building and, hand in hand, we walked, well, I walked, Bella stumbled, over to the car.

We grabbed a late lunch at three o'clock in the nearby Nevada Diner and then we headed for home.

**BELLA'S POV**

_In the door way of my dorm room, I stood watching as Jake stalked away without his old skip in his step. But this time, I didn't cry. This time, I didn't fall to the ground and hold onto my sides, gripping my chest for dear life as I felt a gaping hole in my chest tear at my insides, because the hole wasn't there. This time, it was different. Entirely, completely different._

_Jake hadn't left me, I'd left him. I'd handed him the ring back and given him the same answers he'd given me to all the same questions that I'd once asked him. And when Jake had left the room and the small sobs could no longer be heard from down the hall, two strong arms wrapped around my waist. My body was pulled up against the chest of the man I knew I belonged with. The man whose life would forever intermingle with mine because it was set in the stars._

"_I love you," I told him as I closed the door to my past and turned to look my future in the eyes._

"Bella," a voice whispered. "Wake up sleepy head."

"Five more minutes," I mumbled in response. "I'm talking to my future."

I heard someone chuckle in my ear and I opened my eyes as I realized we were home. Edward's face was extremely close to mine and I leaned forward to kiss his lips while I looked deeply into the piercing green that could easily bring me to my knees.

I unbuckled my seat and hauled myself from the car, Edward helping steady me before I moved to walk into the house and unlock the door. I was just moving up the front steps when I slipped in the puddle.

Two strong arms wrapped around my waist, catching my vertically challenged self before I made the acquaintance of the floor. His eyes were once again meeting mine and I couldn't help but search for my future in them. And I was hit instantly by that terrible fluttering in my heart that I'd written about in my romance novels.

Crap.

I was falling, fast and hard, for this man. I just prayed he wouldn't let me hit the ground this time.

**So, that's the chapter. So PLEASE if you all love me, you'll review. I got a total of 30 reviews last chapter! That's pretty good compared to others, but i wanted to beat my record which was already at 30 reviews on this story so y'all better get reviewing if you want a happy writer to give you a pretty story.**

REVIEW! NOW!!!!! Or i'll sick my crazy Jack Russel Terrier on your asses! Sorry, I'm a little crazy right now :)


	14. Love Conquers All

**a/n: sorry for the delay in my update, but I've been extra busy with the holidays and what not (we decorate for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend) and I also had a tennis tournament to play.**

**First: You all need to go on youtube and watch whatever Jeff Dunham stuff you can**

**Second: His blue prius stuff reminds me of Edward's volvo...but there's relaly no connection exactly**

**Third: Check out Confessions of the Teenage Heart by Sillyemmett asap**

**Fourth: Check out my one shots because the two up so far are funny...**

**Fifth: Happy December!!!**

**Sixth: There's a poll on my profile so go and vote for this story if you want this one to be my main focus in writing**

**Dedication Time! **_This chapter goes to **HeatherCullen-x** with **13 reviews!!!!! **Read and Review if you want your name in this space on an upcoming chapter!_

**BELLA'S POV**

"_Well ladies and gentlemen, if you've seen my show before, you'll recognize this next guy. Please help me welcome my buddy, Peanut," _Jeff Dunham said.

The dummy was pulled out of its case and Jeff stood him up on his podium, one foot bare, one foot wearing a single sneaker. It was some sort of purple and white furry thing that looked something like a monkey, but, well, he wasn't. The green fuzz that was his 'hair' bounced up and down as the crowd cheered for the inanimate object.

"_How you doin' Peanut?"_

"_Doin' pretty good. How 'bout you?"_

"_I'm fine."_

"_That's good. That's good. That's goooooooooood." _They fired their conversation off rapidly, so quickly that you forgot Jeff was the only one speaking. After all, he was a ventriloquist.

"_So, you like it here?"_

"_Oh, I love being in D. Ceeeeeeee. D. Ceeeeeeeee. It's great! And I love this theater."_

"_The Warner."_

"_The Warner Theater. It's fantastic! They have a cool website."_

"_Right."_

"_They got a link to our website, which is Jeff Dun HAM (dot) com. And I think that – "_

"_Hold it."_

"_And I think that – "_

"_Peanut."_

"_No."_

"_Stop it."_

They switched back and forth speedily and the words became jumbled, yet still seemed like two completely different people as they interrupted each other.

"_What?!" _Peanut cried and I laughed. _"What the hell is wrong with you? We cannot talk at the same time!" _You couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness. (a/n: the link to the vid is on my pro…you've GOT to watch this. Freakin hilarious) _"I talk, you talk, I talk, you talk. That's it!_" The puppet moved toward Jeff's face. _"Focus!"_

"_I am so sick of this crap," _the puppet continued. _"I have tried going solo."_

"_What happened?"_

"_Kept falling off this frickin thing…" _Peanut looked down at the podium and I tried to keep my laughs quiet as Edward drifted in and out of sleep on the sofa next to me. _"Why did you interrupt me?"_

"_You mispronounced my name."_

"_What?"_

"_You mispronounced my last name."_

"_I knoooooow."_

"_It's Dunham (a/n: Dunum)."_

"_Not when you look at it. It says Dun-HAM, says Dun-HAM…HAM…You're the other white meat."_

"_Don't confuse everyone, it's Dunham."_

"_It says Dun-HAM, ham, ham, Haaaaaam." _Peanut snorted like a pig a few times and giggles escaped me. I picked up a pillow and buried my face in it so I could laugh more freely without disturbing Edward. Then Peanut made the sound of a cow, and I wondered if I'd need a second pillow. Adding in the sound of a chicken, and I was sure of it. _"Jeff Dun- HAAAAAM," _he said, his voice low pitched, then changed to high pitch as he continued, "_Dot com." _The playing with the name continued and I just laughed as Edward's breathing evened out and I was sure he was asleep.

"_You know, the weird part is, I __**am**__**actually**__ pissing him off, and he would like to __**kill me! **__But he will not because that would be a form of suicide. You want to kill me!"_

"_No I don't."_

"_Yes you do."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Search your feelings Jeff-fah-fah. Dun-HAAAAAM. Dot com." _Peanut was up in Jeff's face when all of a sudden the puppet started to back away.

"_What?" _Jeff asked.

"_Dude. You need a tic-tac!...You know what your breath smells like?...Dun-HAAAAAAAM. Dot com."_

"Personally, I prefer the one where Peanut says they're in Hell," Emmett said as he plopped down beside me. I jumped, startled, landing on Edward's lap, waking him abruptly.

"What's going on?" Edward asked, rubbing his eyes as I blushed furiously and returned to my originally sat.

"Sorry, Edward. I didn't mean to wake you," I apologized. I glared at Emmett. "Your brother just scared the hell out of me."

Emmett chuckled, but he wasn't looking like his usually chipper self, and Edward finally appeared to have rubbed the sleep from his eyes enough as he scanned the room. Alice and Rosalie pranced in and sat down on the floor in front of the sofa and Jasper leaned over the back of the couch and smacked Emmett in the back of the head.

"Ow! What did I do?"

"You scared Bella and woke Edward," Rose answered as she and Alice glared at the big oaf.

I leaned back into the sofa and returned my attention to the comedy show, which only lasted until Alice and Rose simultaneously gasped. I wasn't sure why, so I looked to them, only to find them staring wide-eyed at me.

"I'm not that marvelous," I muttered sarcastically.

They looked at each other, doing that nerve racking, silent conversation thing that always led to my discomfort, and then turned their attentions back to me. The boys were completely oblivious to it all as they became absorbed in Peanut, Jeff, and Jose Jalapeño…on a _steeeck_.

Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch with the strength that I still couldn't believe she had. Why was the little pixie stronger than I?

I was dragged upstairs to Alice's office, aka the interrogation room, and sat at her desk, the desk light turned on my face as they glared at me.

"When were you planning on telling us?" Rose asked sternly.

My brows furrowed. "Telling you about what?"

"About your night with Edward…after you left the club…" Alice prompted. I was pretty sure she already knew, because her eyes danced with knowledge, but I could tell she was looking for details.

"Well…"

**EDWARD'S POV**

"Give it up!" Jasper said as the two of them fought childishly on the floor for the remote.

"Never!" Emmett exclaimed as he pinned Jasper and tossed the remote toward me. In my I-just-woke-up-three-minutes-ago-so-I'm-not-fully-functional state, I managed not to catch it, and it instead slammed into my forehead.

"Shit. That's going to leave a mark," I muttered as I rubbed my forehead and picked up the plastic device from my lap. "Ha! You both lose! Remote's mine!" The bonk on the head certainly broke me from my haze and I laughed as they both stopped wrestling and looked up at me.

Emmett lunged at me and the couch slammed against the wall. I could hear feet running down the stairs in a mad dash as Emmett tried to rip the object from my hands.

"What the hell?!" Bella cried. "What are you doing to Edward?"

"Taking back what's mine," he said as if it made any sense whatsoever to them.

I could see the three descend the stairs and so I tossed the remote over to Alice, who caught it lithely.

"Is _that _why you were trying to kill my boyfriend?" Bella asked incredulously. I smiled. I loved it when she called me her boyfriend. Emmett stopped trying to bury my ass in the couch cushions as he realized I no longer had what he was looking for.

"Alice, dear, would you hand me the clicker?" Emmett asked sweetly.

"Hmmm," she hummed, tapping her finger to her chin. "I think not."

"Please?"

"Nope."

"Pretty, pretty please with sugar on top?"

"No."

"Pweeeeeaaaase?" His face became pouty and his eyes wide.

"Oh god, Emmett, not the puppy dog eyes," Alice replied sarcastically.

"Come on, Pixie. You know you want to," he said, trying to coax her into handing it over.

"You know what I want to do, Emmett?" she asked, teasing him. "This." She put the remote into the camisole she was wearing under her leather blazer, which, judging by the fact that it didn't fall out, had a built in bra. It was sad how much I knew about clothing, little things like that, but Tanya never shut up about that stuff. I'd always been informed in fashion. No wonder Emmett questioned my sexual orientation.

Emmett just smirked as he jumped off of the couch and stalked toward the tiny girl. "You should know by now that I won't mind going in there and retrieving the remote." He looked like a grizzly bear, sneaking up on a blueberry bush. Kind of funny, actually.

"I'd mind," Rosalie and Jasper both answered at the same time. Rosalie was more teasing, Jasper was dead serious. We all turned to him surprised.

He stood up and walked over to Alice, taking her small frames into his arms and attaching his lips to hers. He reached into her shirt and pulled out the piece of plastic, then detached his mouth. "I win," he put simply before walking, unaffected, to the DVD player and switching out the Jeff Dunham disk for one of the others by this comedian, Spark of Insanity.

(A/n: you all really have to go onto youtube and look at his rants for spark of insanity – Blue Toyota Prius, Chihuahua 1 & 2 – and Arguing with myself – golden retriever, airport – and also check out Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Peanut, Walter, and all the rest… all freaking hilarious)

He then plopped down on the sofa and hit play. We all just stared.

- - -

Alice, Bella, and Rosalie were off in the other corner of the living room as we listened to Achmed the dead terrorist. Emmett was getting annoyed as they whispered back and forth, glancing over at us boys every few seconds and giggling. Were they still in high school or what? I was beginning to grow curious as to what they were discussing and I was starting to get bothered, wondering if they were talking about us.

Obviously, they were annoying Emmett as he decided to quote Achmed the dead terrorist, using the perfect accent as well. _"Silence. I kiiiill you!"_

I smirked as I imagined Emmett as one of the puppets Jeff Dunham used in his act. He could have a lot of fun with that…

"Just watch your damn show, Emmett," Rosalie hissed.

"I would, if you all weren't talking and giggling about Bella having sex with my brother," he shot back, his voice indifferent.

"I didn't realize it was any of your business what we talk about," Alice answered. "Do you want us all to go get you something to eat, master?"

"Just shut it, alright? I don't want to hear any more of that," he turned back to watch the TV.

"Then don't listen," Rosalie ordered. "Jasper and Edward didn't even have a clue what we were talking about."

"I wasn't _trying _to."

"Don't eavesdrop, you won't always like what you hear, Em," Bella told him meekly, blushing furiously. I was still confused. They were talking about Bella and I having sex last night?

"First off, Bella, I wasn't eavesdropping. Second, I can't believe you are already screwing around with my brother!" Emmett blurted out, angered and annoyed. Bella looked as though she'd been slapped in the face and she ran from the room.

I looked at him, too stunned to even think about what I should say or do at the moment. My brother had, for all intents and purposes, called my girlfriend a whore. And he was the one telling me not to hurt her? Alice and Rosalie didn't even offer him a glance, glare, or tongue lashing before leaving the room and going after Bella, so I did it for them.

"What the hell was that?!" I all but screamed at him as I jumped from the couch. I heard Jasper shut off the TV and he stood up beside me for reinforcements if needed.

"What do you mean 'what the hell was that'?"

My eyes widened at him and I could tell the anger that I was suddenly feeling was rolling off me in waves. "You can't be serious! Did you hear yourself? _'I can't believe you are already screwing around with my brother!' _Would you like to tell me what possessed you to say that? Or am I just going to have to beat it out of you?"

"I didn't…"

"Oh save it, Emmett. Do you not have a filter? I mean, granted, you never had one since you were born, but over the years it at least seemed to get better. Could you for once think before you speak? Because, for all that is holy, I will not be held responsible for my actions if you ever say something like that to Bella again. And to top it off, could you be anymore of a damn hypocrite? I mean, go ahead and tell me that if I ever hurt your _precious little sister, _I won't live to see another day, but then what gives you the right to make her run out of the room on the verge of tears? Give me one reason why I should chose to let you get away without a scratch on one of your pretty two faces? You're one hell of a protector to her Emmett."

I didn't even want to hear any more so I dashed from the room and upstairs to Bella. I could hear Rosalie and Alice trying to talk her down from the sobs that I could hear, but they were apparently unsuccessful. I knew she was in her room and so I quickly scuttled over to her door and turned the door knob, pushing forward on the door. My face hit the wood as it didn't budge. I tried once more, realizing it was locked. I sighed and knocked lightly.

"It's only me, Edward," I said softly through the door and seconds later Alice unlocked it and allowed me through. When the door was successfully locked, I turned to Bella who was lying on her side on the bed, facing away from me. I sat down behind her and rubbed her back softly. The motion came so naturally to me in order to comfort her. "Hey," I whispered.

I could feel Alice and Rose staring at us from the other side of the room, but ignored it as I heard another sob came from Bella's beautiful lips. "Hi," she whispered back.

I bent down and kissed her cheek, my lips lingering on the moisture which coated her skin. I took a tissue from the box that was sat on the bed and carefully wiped away the tears. She sighed and her eyes closed as my fingers ran across the skin. I laid down behind her and pulled her back against my chest, wrapping one arm around her waist.

I heard muffled 'aw's as the lock on the door turned and the door opened, then closed. I could tell we were alone now and I became increasingly thankful for Alice and Rose's intuition that it would be a good time to leave the both of us alone. We sat in silence for what must have been ten, fifteen minutes, during which we could hear something banging against another surface and Emmett cry out 'Ow!' Everything after that wasn't heard easily. Some time after it stopped, I kissed the back of her head.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into her hair.

"What for?" she asked.

"For my idiot of a brother. He should never have said that. You and I both know you and I weren't just _screwing _each other," I told her. "And even if we were, he has no right to speak like that."

She just shook her head. "The first amendment gives him the right to say what he wants, whatever he's thinking."

"Just because he can, doesn't mean he should." My arm that was wrapped around her waist moved to my side and my hand went to her hip, rubbing it softly in the hope of a peaceful, calming effect.

"Who's to say we weren't just _screwing _each other?" she asked quietly, as if she was afraid of the answer.

I sighed. "I can't speak for you," I admitted, cautiously proceeding to the rest of my statement, "but it was much more than that to me."

It was true, definitely more than just a good screw for me. I didn't know what more it was, but I knew it was more. I tried to think of a word for what that more could be, but my mind was just absorbed in comforting Bella in the moment, coherent thought beyond that had basically escaped.

"It was far more than just that to me," she agreed.

I took a deep breath, breathing in her scent and missing the strawberry smell that her hair had since we met, absent because she'd used the hotel's shampoo this morning. Still, she smelled incredible and it calmed the smallest amount of anger that had remained in my system from Emmett's idiotic mouth, being replaced by an overwhelming joy, just at knowing that I even meant a small something to her.

**ROSALIE'S POV**

Alice and I quietly snuck out of Bella's room and then rushed down stairs. Emmett's mood was all over the place today and he wouldn't tell me why, which had already frustrated me to no end. I'd spent the day hanging out with Jasper around Seattle and Had driven home with Alice and Jasper because Emmett was supposed to be in a meeting for a while longer. How he made it home just at the same time as we did, I didn't understand. He parked my car incorrectly, so I already knew something was off. He knew how much I hated it if my car wasn't parked the right way, and he would never do anything wrong when it came to my car unless he was honestly upset.

But he stepped out of the car with a huge smile on his face and I had to do a double take to make sure it was really there. I wondered just how well the meeting had gone with his lawyer if he was that happy. When he came over to me, however, and kissed me on the cheek, I knew the smile was fake. I mean, if he was giddy, the way he pretended to be, he would have planted a big, wet smooch on my lips, not a quick peck on my cheek. I asked him what was the matter, but he just waved my question off.

He went inside and plopped down on the sofa, causing Bella to jump and wake Edward. Any other time, I would have smacked him in the back of the head, but instead I remained cautious and just sat in front of him on the floor. Jasper, on the other hand, smacked Emmett.

I tried to act like normal for his sake, because I knew that whatever had a stick up his ass would eventually blow over and his bad mood would be merely between us, at least that's what usually happened. It wasn't long after the return of us girls and the wrestling match between the boys that we all started chatting about what had happened the night prior in Edward and Bella's hotel room, having been interrupted when the fight over the remote ensued.

Of course, we were as quiet as possible, but whenever Emmett became irritable, his senses were sharply attuned to everything that went on around him. He heard everything that was said and I could see his face growing more and more upset. I tried to change the subject multiple times, but Alice just wouldn't let up. Of course, no one could blame her, we all wanted to know what went on and no one else was aware that Emmett was unhappy. I would have been the same way. I kept looking back at him as I watched his irritation grow.

Suddenly, Emmett had burst, and told us in so many words, those made famous in our home by Achmed the dead terrorist, to shut our mouths. I knew he was upset, but he shouldn't be acting out like this, he never had before.

"Just watch your damn show, Emmett," I hissed.

"I would, if you all weren't talking and giggling about Bella having sex with my brother," he shot back, his voice indifferent, but it was obvious he was seething.

"I didn't realize it was any of your business what we talk about," Alice replied annoyed. "Do you want us all to go get you something to eat, master?"

"Just shut it, alright? I don't want to hear any more of that," he turned back to watch the TV.

"Then don't listen," I ordered. "Jasper and Edward didn't even have a clue what we were talking about." He was honestly beginning to piss me off. I could understand if he didn't want to hear this, but then why would he listen. Why not just turn up the damn TV? And to tell us to shut it? He'd never dared say that to me before in a situation in which he wasn't joking.

"I wasn't _trying _to."

"Don't eavesdrop, you won't always like what you hear, Em," Bella told him meekly, blushing furiously. I could hear when the gears in his head ground together and something in his mind just snapped. I was ready for whatever he was going to say to the three of us, prepared to make a smart ass comment. However, when his verbal attack wasn't aimed at the three of us, but the one girl he swore to always protect because she couldn't stand up for herself, I wasn't sure what to say.

I looked at her face as it scrunched up in pain. We all knew it was far from the truth, but Bella had just gotten through saying she was afraid that Edward felt it was nothing more than a good night in bed with the girl he'd been dating for only a week, who he'd known for only two. What he said was almost like telling a little kid that Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny were all imaginary creatures. Emmett had just proved to poor, defenseless, damaged Bella that she was never safe from anyone. That she would even need protection from the guy who swore he'd always protect her. I could see the tears gather in her eyes and she ran faster than I'd ever seen her before from the room, up the stairs.

Alice and I looked at each other in disbelief before we got up and walked after Bella. I couldn't even look at Emmett right now. How could he possibly have done that to Bella? Not to me or to Alice, not to Jasper or Edward, not to any of us who could stand up for ourselves, but to Bella…

I finally reached the bottom step of the staircase with Alice at my side and looked to the sofa where Emmett sat with his face buried in his hands. Jasper was standing in the hallway between the entrance to the living room and the door to the kitchen. I tilted my head, signaling both Alice and Jasper to go to the kitchen while I walked over to Emmett.

I glared at him, waiting for a few minutes for him to look up at me where I stood in front of him. He didn't look up. I cleared my throat, and he just shook his head. I tapped my heels on the wood floor. Nothing. I grabbed the big, hard cover dictionary off the side table next to Emmett. Jasper had probably taken it out at some point this week to do his crossword puzzles or something. I raised the large Webster's Dictionary over my head and slammed it down on Emmett's head.

"OW!!!" he cried out in pain, but I couldn't even feel sympathy for him. He was being a brat, and I would treat him worse than he was treating everyone else.

"You deserved that," I spat.

"I didn't mean to—" I hit him with the book again. "Ow! Dammit Rose! If you keep hitting me you'll never hear what I have to say!" I hit him with the book again. He ripped it from my hands as a growl escaped his lips before standing and tossing the book across the room.

I think that this was the first time since that night with Royce that I was actually afraid of any man. Thankfully, I was raised by my father and my three brothers, so I knew well how to defend myself if Emmett tried to hurt me, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to considering his strength. Still, I wouldn't give up the way I had with Royce.

I smacked him flat across the face. "That was for not telling me what was upsetting you." I smacked him a second time. "That was for being a pathetic little baby, bottling up your anger and then snapping at us." Smack. "That's for being a little bitch about whatever your damn problem is." I punched him in the stomach and I could hear the wind rush out of him. I smirked. "And that was for picking on the one person you knew you could easily tear down because she couldn't ever stand up to you."

With that, I turned on my heel and walked out of the room and into the kitchen, cutting through in order to get to the back porch and get some fresh air. I leaned against the banister and stared at was now a black night, no stars breaking through the disgusting cloud cover which all but matched the atmosphere of our 'happy' home. I looked at the ring on my finger. Would this be what I was marrying into?

**EMMETT'S POV**

_Dammit! _Nothing was going right for my today. Not only had I lost the gym, but I'd brought Bella to tears, destroyed the small bit of happiness my brother had at the moment, and pissed Rosalie off, killing half my brain cells in the process. God, the look in her eyes when I ripped the book from her hands. I had given her reason to be afraid of me. Me! How could I have already screwed up so badly? I banged my head against the wall as I cried out in anguish. This wasn't happening to me.

I couldn't lose everything at once, not all in one day, not even in one lifetime. I couldn't get back the gym, not this one, but I could salvage everything else…I hoped.

I knew that both Rosalie and Edward would not forgive me before Bella did, and that Bella would not forgive me if all I were doing was sitting down here banding my head against a wall. I didn't even know where to begin apologizing to Bella, but I knew that I had about thirty seconds to think about it while I walked up the steps to Bella's bedroom. The door was shut and I could hear voices (and not in the telepathic type of way).

"For my idiot of a brother. He should never have said that. You and I both know you and I weren't just _screwing _each other," Edward's voice said softly. "And even if we were, he has no right to speak like that."

"The first amendment gives him the right to say what he wants, whatever he's thinking," Bella answered sadly. I could feel my inside being torn up and my body berating itself, knowing it was my fault. I could only imagine her face now, the look of hurt in her eyes. It was everything I promised I'd protect her against.

"Just because he can, doesn't mean he should."

"Who's to say we weren't just _screwing _each other?" she asked quietly, as if she was afraid of the answer.

I was pretty sure it was Edward who sighed before responding. He was cautious as he made his admission. "I can't speak for you, but it was much more than that to me."

"It was far more than just that to me," she agreed.

I put my hand on the door knob and turned it, opening the door and looking in on the two as they lay on the bed. They looked so perfect together and I once again couldn't understand why I'd said anything like I had earlier.

They didn't turn around to look at me and I wondered if they hadn't heard me open the door. I knocked on the door frame, effectively startling them both for the second time today.

"Bella?" I asked cautiously. She didn't answer me, but I could see Edward tighten his hold on her. Good, she deserved someone who would protect her. I obviously wasn't doing a very good job. "I know this doesn't mean anything, but I really am sorry."

I could here Edward growl and I hid my smile, knowing he could turn to look at me at any second.

"I didn't mean to say anything like that, but I let my words get away from me. I was in a terrible mood, and I was stupidly brooding instead of moving on. Worst of all, I took out my anger on you. And though I know it's wrong to take your anger out on anyone, I took it out on you because I knew it would hurt and that you wouldn't fight back. I hate myself for what I did and don't ever expect you to forgive me, but at least know that if I were given another chance, I would keep myself in check and just excuse myself from the room."

There was no response so I took a deep breath and continued, just hoping that maybe she would understand I was thoroughly sincere in my apology, whether she was ready to forgive me or not.

"I was wrong, and I'll admit it everyday for the rest of my life. You're the little sister I always wished I'd had and I told you I'd never let anyone hurt you on my watch. And I let you down, not just by letting someone cause you any sort of pain, but by letting myself be that someone. Bella, I don't care if you want to hit me, hurt me, or scream at me until your throat is raw, but all I need is for you to really know that I am truly, very, undeniably sorry for what I said."

I turned and went to close the door. "Don't go," Bella said softly.

I looked to her on the bed as she sat up and Edward turned onto his back to look at me. She lay back down on his side, Edward remaining a barrier between the two of us. She smiled up at me and I smiled carefully back at her.

"I can't believe you came up with that all off the top of your head," she joked.

I walked over there and knelt at the side of her bed like Esme used to make us do when we prayed before going to bed, something that stopped by the time I was eight. "I really didn't mean it Bella," I told her as I looked into her eyes. I could see the forgiveness there and I knew I didn't deserve it, but would forever be indebted to her for giving it to me.

"Give me a hug, Brother Bear," she said and my small smile grew wide as she sat up once again and I leaned over my brother to wrap her in my arms. "I forgive you," she whispered in my ear.

"I'll always be there for you. Don't be afraid to hit me the next time I do something stupid," I answered.

She smirked. "You know who I saw today in Seattle?"

She looked like she dying to tell me something, she was bouncing up and down in place. "Jose Jalapeño on a Steeeeek?" I asked.

She smacked my arm and I smirked at her while Edward still glared at me. "Nope, Lauren Mallory."

My eyes widened. Shit, she'd probably already been upset thanks to Lauren. "I'm sorry, Bells. Dammit, I really haven't been there for you at all today."

I didn't understand when she smiled and Edward's glare turned into a proud grin. "I don't think Bella needed you as far as Lauren goes. That girl received quite the tongue lashing from this girl."

"No way," I drew out. "I want all the details." Jeez, I sounded like such a girl.

"Well…"

- - - -

"Great job, Bells." I high-fived her and got off the bed. We'd been up here for some thirty minutes reliving every detail of their encounter and other details that weren't necessary. I especially was glad she had sent back _his _ring.

"Let's go downstairs," Bella said. "I'm sure you've got a lot of apologizing to do to Rose."

"I know, but you came first in this, you were owed the biggest one."

She nodded and Edward stood, helping Bella off the bed after him. His arm instantly went to her waist and I wondered why I even thought for a second that they were just screwing around. Rose was right when she told me that night they kissed. The both of them seemed perfect together and I needed to butt out and stop screwing with them.

When I got to the kitchen, Alice and Jasper looked up at me apologetically. I was curious why they gave me this sort of reaction, but the light quickly reflected off of something on the counter and I practically ran to it.

There was Rosalie's engagement ring and a note on the counter beneath it.

"No…" I whispered.

**ROSALIE'S POV**

I sat in my BMW as it rolled down the highway. I was headed back for Seattle. I needed to think, and I needed someone to talk to who had no bias. I needed to go home.

I played music on the radio and listened. I couldn't think right now, not while I was driving. It was already late, really late, but I needed to just focus on driving. It wasn't because I was worried about falling asleep or getting into an accident, but I knew that if I started to think about this whole mess before I made it to my Dad's house just outside the city, I'd turn back and go right back into Emmett's arms.

I'd already been driving for three hours and I was driving extremely fast. I skirted around Seattle, knowing it would be faster than to get through the traffic. I studied the streets carefully as I navigated the small town that I was still unfamiliar with. I'd grown up in another house. Dad bought a bigger house last year when Doug, his wife, and their kids all decided to move back in with Dad.

Dad hated being alone, and his business was flourishing, so he wanted to invest his money in something anyway, so he figured it'd be best to get a bigger house that allowed some his family to live with him. Not long later, Jackson moved in and so did Joey. My entire family would be there.

I was the baby of the family and the only girl. My mother had passed away when I was just a baby, having been killed when her office building burned down. It'd only been her first week back after her maternity leave. But Dad took it all really well. He didn't ever crack and he took care of me like I was precious diamond. I loved him as much as I loved the air I breathed.

Still, I wasn't coming home to talk to him, just be near him, around the people I loved the most. I was coming home because I still had friends who I could talk to, more importantly my friend Andie, who was a psychiatrist and would give me a very unbiased opinion.

When I got to Dad's house, I pulled into the drive way. It was a lot bigger than the house I grew up in, but I knew it was perfect for the big family he had living there now. I sighed. A family that no longer included me.

No, that wasn't true. I was still included, very much so, but just not in the same way.

I stood on the porch and looked at my cell phone to see the time. It was late. Too late to knock, knowing I'd wake my nieces. A little after 2 AM. I knew that the phone had a chance of waking them too, but Dad never kept the phones near the kids' rooms for that reason. I quickly dialed the number and hit 'talk'.

No one answered the first time, but I saw a light go on in the house so I called a second time. I could feel myself shaking as the sobs finally hit me.

I realized, then, that I had left Emmett with my engagement ring without saying a proper goodbye. Yes, the note said so, but I hadn't even told him I loved him. I was just going to think this through, think if everything would be alright for us after this. We'd fought before, but he'd never had me afraid that he'd hurt me. I had to think, away from him, while my head would be clear.

"_Hello?"_ a groggy voice answered the phone.

"Joey, it's Rose."

"_What's wrong Rose? Are you hurt?" _he was panicking.

"No, no. Joey, I'm not hurt." _Not physically_, I tagged on in my mind. "Would you please come downstairs and let me in?"

"_Come down stairs and what? Rose, are you here?"_

"I'm on the front porch. I didn't have time to grab my key. Please just let me in."

I heard the phone disconnect and moved toward the door. I could hear feet padding inside the house and saw the curtain flutter on one of the front windows before the chain slid to the side and the locks turned. The door opened to reveal a very disheveled Joey. His short blonde hair was a little mussed, his eyes were only half opened, his skin was indented from where he laid on his blankets, and he was in only a pair of boxers, which were known as "sleepwear" in Joey's world.

He didn't even have the chance to say anything before I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him and cried into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around me and he held onto me tightly like any big brother would do for his little sister.

"Whatever it is, Rosie, it'll be alright," he whispered in my ear, moving me into the house and locking the door behind us.

**EMMETT'S POV**

_Dear Emmett,_

_I'm sorry, but I just needed to leave.  
__I had to think, and I couldn't do it if I had to look you in the face.  
__My leaving the ring was not calling off the engagement,  
__But merely getting rid of one more thing that would cloud my judgment.  
__I've gone home to my family, and if you love me, you'll give me the time I need.  
__I'm sorry to go like this, but I couldn't just do nothing after this evening._

_Rosalie Lillian Hale_

I read the note for the hundredth time.

There was no _I love you _in there, but there was no _it's over _either.

There was no promise to come back to me, but there was no definite goodbye.

There was no guarantee that what we had would always be, but it wasn't said that it was never anything.

And it just killed me to live in those in-betweens, those indefinites. I was always one to live free, without plans or agendas, but now, more than ever, I needed that security blanket of just knowing.

I sat back on the guest room bed while I stared at the small piece of paper in my hands. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have already messed up the something so significant to my survival?

She'd feared me.

Afraid of me, her big teddy bear? I'd always thought it'd be impossible, but I'd proved it plausible.

All I knew was that my Rosalie was gone, for however long, I wasn't sure, and that it was all my fault. I wished that I could have at least felt her lips on mine once before she'd vanished.

I played with her ring in my hand. I wouldn't make it through this.

**ROSALIE'S POV**

My night's sleep was terrible, restless. Whenever I fell asleep, my dreams would be in a frenzy. There were dreams – well, nightmares – of my night with Royce. There were dreams of the good times with Emmett. The not so great dreams of what happened yesterday evening. The fear. But shining through it all was Emmett's love for me and I knew I couldn't see any of that, because when did love ever conquer all else?

The locket that hung around my neck was just another reminder so I removed it early that morning, staring longingly at the picture of us inside. We were happy. It was one of the good times I'd dreamed about. I closed the small piece of silver and placed it into the small case in my purse.

I took a deep breath and looked at my cell phone. They'd all called so many times last night, Bella especially, but I ripped the battery out before I could answer any of them and put the battery into my pocket.

I pulled out an outfit of the clothes I kept here and showered, dressed, and put on makeup to hide my puffy face before I went downstairs. I didn't cook much at the house in Forks, but I did every morning I was around this one. Everyone would be up the second the smells hit their noses.

I got out some bacon, eggs, bread, and everything else I'd need to make the proper breakfast. I stared long and hard at the food as I made it. Emmett always loved it when I cooked for him.

I could hear people moving around upstairs and I began setting the table. I turned on the coffee maker and went back to the stove. French toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Toast and Bagels were going through the toaster. Plates, bowls, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, napkins, orange juice, milk, water, fruit, and cereal were all placed at the large table, big enough to seat all eight of us.

I was just putting the last of the French toast into the pan when I heard my second favorite voice behind me. "What's the special occasion Amy?"

I giggled. He thought I was my sister-in-law. I didn't blame him, though. We looked a lot alike, especially from behind. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't exactly expecting to see me standing in his kitchen this morning. "What's wrong Dad? Don't recognize me without your glasses?"

I turned around just in time to see recognition flash across his face, slightly distorted by the wrinkles which revealed his age. "Rosalie?" he asked in surprise, pulling the glasses out of the breast pocket of his new Armani suit I'd bought for him a few weeks ago for his birthday. I nodded and he all but rushed to me, pulling me into a hug. "I missed you so much, baby girl."

"I missed you too, Daddy," I replied, gripping tightly to him. He was large, just like Emmett, but I missed my Dad's arms so much more than Emmett's at the moment. I could feel my eyes tearing in happiness and I grabbed a paper towel from the counter behind me so I didn't ruin the nice suit. His hand rubbed up and down my back to comfort me, much like Edward had done with Bella yesterday, but this was in a fatherly manner.

"What are you doing here? When did you get here?" he finally asked.

"It's a long story, and I got here around two AM," I answered, pulling a bit away so I could see his face.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because old men like you need their sleep, Daddy," I teased.

He huffed. "Old man, my ass. How long are you staying?"

"Probably a week or so."

"Is that fiancé of yours upstairs?"

I looked away and sighed. "Daddy, he and I got into a little fight."

"Well then, you two should be talking and making up," he told me.

"I can't. Couldn't say a word to him before I left. If you had seen him Daddy, the look in his eyes. I was afraid he'd hurt me. I'd never feared him before."

My dad stiffened. "Rosie, I'm so sorry. Stay as long as you need." He hugged me tightly before I heard him chuckle. "Now, go and finish makin' that yummy smellin' breakfast. Lookin' good from where I'm standin'."

I smiled at him, dabbing my eyes one last time. He was raised in the south, and while it'd been years since he'd set foot on the land down there, he still held his accent. It always cheered me up, and he knew that. "Yes sir," I replied with a salute before pecking him on the cheek and returning to my cooking.

Doug walked in, but he didn't see me hiding behind the counter as he sniffed the air. "I know that Amy didn't cook all this which means either Joey tried his hand at cooking again and actually did well, or little Rosie's home."

"Hey there," I said to my oldest brother. He smirked at me and walked over, pulling me into a bear hug and lifting me off the ground. The reminders of Emmett were possible going to kill me, but I didn't make a noise as I hugged my brother back. He set me down and with my four-inch heels I was an inch taller than he was.

"What are you doin' here?" he asked. He'd picked up a lot on Dad's accent growing up over the years.

"Can't a girl visit her family every once in a while?" I asked.

"Sure she can," he answered, snatching up a crunchy piece of bacon from the group I'd just set on the plate and taking a bite. "So long as she makes a breakfast like this ever'time."

I laughed at him and handed him a plate to carry over to the table. "You should really watch your pronunciation, and you shouldn't be talking while you chew," I scolded.

"Yeah, Dad, what Aunt Rose said," ten year old Annie repeated and I laughed as she and her little sister Tammy came up and hugged me. They were both short, much like their mother, Amy, and I smirked as I realized Annie only met my waist while Tammy could only wrap her small, six year old arms around my jean-clad thigh.

"Hey you two," I greeted, bending to kiss them on the foreheads. "How are my two favorite nieces doing today?"

"Fwantastic!" Tammy exclaimed and Amy laughed at her daughter as she entered.

"Morning Rosalie," she said as she came to grab some more serving dishes off the counter. "You two go take your seats, alright?"

"Yes Mom," they both answered before they galloped to the table.

"Kids." She smirked and shook her head on her way out.

Almost everyone was sitting at the table, but there were still a few missing.

One thing I learned about my family was that there were only two ways to get the guys moving.

1. Set the house on fire (or set off the fire alarm)

Or…

2. Announce that there was food on the table.

I thought the second choice was not only a safer bet, but less likely to scare the kids so I hit the buzzer on the intercom that my father had had installed (why he did that, I'd never know) and said the magic word.

Immediately, you could hear two sets of footsteps charging down the stairs. Jackson appeared in the doorway first, but stopped short when he saw me, causing Joey to collide with his back. Joey weaseled his way into the kitchen Jackson stared on. "Rose?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Well, I'll be damned. What are you doin' here?" Jackson picked up on the accent too. Joey and I were younger and for some reason our English was all northern.

"Everybody keeps asking me that. Am I not wanted?" I joked.

The hugging then commenced with Jackson. He wasn't bulky like the other men, having taken after my mother's side of the family, just as I had. With his blonde hair and blue eyes, he reminded me a lot of Jasper.

We all sat around the table and ate. It was relatively quiet if you ignored the sounds of my brothers stuffing their faces like animals. After everyone was finished, I began to clear the table and Amy helped. When Annie asked if she could help, I smiled at her, an idea popping into my head.

"Of course you can, sweetie," I told her. "I've got a very special job for you." I pulled my cell phone battery out of my pocket and held it up. "I want you to do this for me, but pay close attention." She nodded. "I want you to take this and hide it somewhere that Aunt Rose won't find it. Make sure it stays there until I ask for it back. Then, I'm going to need you to go get it for me again."

Her eyes grew wide as she reached out for the battery. "I can do that."

I pulled the battery back. "Not so fast, missy. Here's the kicker…you have to remember where you hide it, okay? If you don't think you can do that, then I want you to tell Mommy where you put it."

She nodded and I handed her the battery. She disappeared quickly, calling for Tammy. That was a smart idea. The little six year old liked to hide things, and you rarely found it again without her help.

Amy started doing the dishes as she chuckled before she looked at me. "Okay, what's up?"

**EDWARD'S POV**

It was Wednesday now, and Rosalie had left Sunday night. Emmett was still sulking whenever he was around, so we were thankful he went to work today. Bella and I snuggled up on the couch, grateful that we didn't have to hide away in her room so that Emmett didn't whimper when he saw wrapped in each other's arms.

Seeing Emmett like this made me wonder what would happen to me if Bella ever suddenly left me like Rosalie had him. I couldn't help but wonder if I was already that deep. Some nagging voice in the back of my mind was screaming, "Yes, you are, now get out while you can." The rest of me just wasn't sure, but knew that I was going to stick by Bella for as long as I could.

"What are you thinking? You seem a million miles away," Bella soft voice asked me.

I smiled. "Just…wondering."

"About what?" she inquired.

I tapped her nose with my finger. She was so cute from where she was, looking up at me as she lay against my side. "Us…"

"What about us?"

I chuckled. "You certainly are nosey there."

"Sorry," she said, ashamed.

"Oh come on, now. I'm only teasing you. I was just…I'm not even sure what exactly. I can't even begin to believe how quick we're moving, but I can't imagine moving slower." I wasn't lying. I'd been thinking that five or so minutes ago.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" she asked. "How you can think that nothing seems right, and yet you feel it's perfectly in place…"

"Have you been reading my mind?" I teased.

"Maybe," she replied as she moved to lie on my chest. Her face hovered inches from mine. I looked down at her lips as they moved, words flowing from them. "I bet I could tell you what you're thinking right now."

"I bet you could too," I answered.

She didn't say anything else before her lips met mine. The kiss was gentle, but anyone who so chose to enter the room in this moment would have felt the heat that was already radiating off the both of us. My arms wrapped tightly around her body and her hands rested on my chest, her entire body weight on top of me. I was more than loving the feel of her entire body pressed against mine.

I could already feel myself responding to her, and I knew that I wanted her. Her tongue swept across my lip before I could take the initiative and I gladly granted her request, eagerly taking the chance to immediately dominate, catching her by surprise, and explore her mouth.

She moaned as I pulled her against me harder, and I did the same in return. Her hands slowly traveled up my shoulders to wrap around my neck and our faces were locked now with her strong grip.

She pulled back to breathe and I moved my lips along her tantalizing skin. It was so soft and smooth, perfect. My lips brushed along her jaw line and down her neck, placing one small kiss at the base of her throat.

She looked down into my eyes as I pulled away from her skin and I was positive what I wanted. "Should we…take this upstairs?" she asked nervously, biting her bottom lip. I could feel myself grow harder at the sight.

"Yes, please," I answered, my voice unrecognizable to myself. Bella slowly got off of me and I stood, pulling her into my arms immediately and kissing her before I took her hand and led her up the steps. Stopping in the hallway, we stood between the doors to our bedrooms. On one side was mine, on the other, hers. She took the initiative and pulled me into her room.

"Ladies first," she smirked.

I chuckled and shut the door behind us, locking it quickly. Knowing our luck, someone would walk in and interrupt us…and it would be Emmett.

She sat back on her bed which she'd left unmade. The quilt was almost entirely off the bed, the sheets crumpled up from where she'd thrown them off herself. Her pillows weren't straight, but left in slightly awkward positions. She crossed her legs, pretzel style, and leaned back on her hands as she faced me, sitting on the edge of the side of the bed.

I took a few moments to look at her. I watched as she pulled her hair out of the messy bun she had it in and it fell over her shoulders. She slipped off the half-jacket she was wearing and I again looked over her to appreciate her. Bare feet, black skort, white t-shirt. Even the simplest look and she was stunning.

I walked over to her slowly, my own bare feet moving across the wooden floor without a sound. She watched me as I moved, her eyes studying my every step toward her. Her eyes caught mine and I paused before continuing forward, astounded, as always, at the depth of the gorgeous brown irises.

When I finally reached her, I bent forward and placed a chaste kiss upon her pink lips. My hand went to the back of her neck as I looked into her eyes and bent to kiss her again. She didn't move an inch when my lips pressed to hers, but she responded instantly. Her lips parted for me without my asking permission.

I grinned as I realized she was as ready to do this as I was. I pressed forward and she laid back on the bed. My lips moving perfectly with hers, I hovered above her body, my knees on either side of her still folded legs while I supported all my body weight. Her hands moved to my chest like earlier, but this time they grabbed onto my gray t-shirt and pulled me down. I held myself up though, and so she switched tactics, using them to pull my shirt up and over my head.

My shirt gone, she broke away and looked at every inch of my exposed skin, just as she had the last time at the hotel. Her eyes caressed my body and her fingers carefully traced over the divots the muscle created. I closed my eyes and just allowed myself to enjoy the feeling of her exploring my torso.

With one kiss to the hollow of my throat, I felt her fingers travel to my pants and felt the button pop open, her fingers just inside the waist band. The zipper slid down and my eyes remained closed as I tried to maintain my control – however little of it remained.

She slid my pants off, down to where my knees were on the bed, and I somehow managed to kick them off the rest of the way. I remained just inches above her, in nothing but my boxers, as my eyes remained closed.

I could imagine her face though. Her eyes, wide, innocent, darting from my face to my body, and then back and forth again. Biting her bottom lip in that nervous habit she'd formed. A strand of hair out of place, falling along her nose, down to her chin. Her cheeks tinted dark pink, flushed. I could imagine it all, but I still wished to see it for real.

Looking into her face as I opened my eyes, I could see her looking intently at the top of my dark gray boxers as her index finger slid along the top, right hip to the left and back again. I moaned at the feeling and she looked up at me, surprised that she'd brought that sound from me. She saw me looking at her and blushed, moving her hand away from my waist.

I sat back a bit, moving most of my body weight to my legs as I started myself on the task of removing her t-shirt. So simple, the material more than comfortable. It slid off easily and underneath was a plain black bra. I missed above the tiny bow in the center of the garment and then kissed down her stomach, placing a kiss on her belly button. I looked up into her eyes for her permission.

"Can I…"

"Do you think you need to ask?" she whispered.

"I just don't want to do anything you don't—"

She placed one of her hands on mine and placed it at the top of the skort, her muscles contracting for a moment under my touch before settling, her skin so soft. "This isn't anything that I don't want to do."

I pressed a kiss to her lips and I watched as her eyes slid closed automatically. My other hand moved to her waist and cautiously I removed the next piece of clothing.

It was different, doing this all now than it was last time. Last time we were entirely taken over by that need, that want. This time we were more in control. I didn't want to say that last time we didn't know what we were doing, but it was more as though we couldn't have consciously stopped ourselves if we wanted to. This time, there was no race to the finish line. This time around it was different, and we weren't even fully undressed yet.

Her underwear was like her bra, plain and black. It was nothing different, merely comfortable, and I knew that was more of Bella's style. She didn't like to be all dressed up or care about fashion, especially on a day where we were just lounging around the house. Alice and Rosalie would pick on her about it, and I wished I'd been there to protect her from their games from the beginning.

"Bella," I whispered against her lips.

"Hmmm?" she hummed in response.

"You are such a lovely creature," I answered.

Her hands slid into my hair, her fingers tangling into the mess. "You are one as well," she whispered into our kiss. The way it sounded, it was as if she meant it to be only a thought, but it escaped her by accident. I was pretty sure it was the latter, so I merely pressed harder into the kiss.

I continued in my cautious manner, afraid that the softer mood would break with a too sudden movement. I removed her bra and she inched further up the bed so we were both on the bed more fully. Her scent was strong at this point, and I was again reassured that she was ready to be with me again. Irrational fear, it was, to be afraid she wouldn't want to have sex with me again after what my brother had said, but maybe that was because it had felt like something much more than sex, even if the motions of that act were identical.

"Edward," she whispered softly. I removed my mouth from hers and looked into her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Please. Just…now, please," she said as she tried to breathe. Her breath blew across my face and I nodded, knowing exactly how she felt.

We each removed the last of the clothing that kept us apart and I sat myself between her legs. Positioning myself at her entrance, I pushed inside of her. I was overrun by that same sensation as the previous time while I remained still, allowing her to adjust and to give myself a moment to breathe. I could hear her moan when I started to move, and the same sounds escaped me as I moved.

I supported my weight on my arms, still hovering above her. She always looked so fragile, and it was easy to think that my body weight would crush her. I kissed the side of her throat, her shoulders, her face, that sensitive spot just below her ear at the very top of her neck.

She met every thrust of mine flawlessly, bringing about feelings I'd never known existed within my nerves. Her name blew from my mouth every few moments and mine from hers just as often.

When she screamed in ecstasy, coming to her climax, I knew I wasn't far behind. I brushed a strand of damp hair back from her face, behind her ear.

Moments later, I found my own end with one final thrust and the pleasure was nearly overwhelming. I fell to the side of her, lying on my back as I tried to catch my breath.

I pulled her on top of me and kissed her lips one last time. Panting, she whispered, "Thank you."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just kissed her forehead. I mean, honestly, what would you say to your girlfriend when she said thank you for pleasuring both her and yourself?

As I laid there with her in my arms, she breathed calmly on my chest. I knew she wasn't asleep, but the even rhythm was there. I was reminded of a song that fit this perfectly.

_I can feel her on my skin,  
I can taste her on my tongue,  
She's the sweetest taste I've seen,  
The more I get, the more I want._

I couldn't quite understand this feeling, but I still knew what it meant. I just wished I'd never lose this…any of it.

**ROSALIE'S POV**

"Andie, I just don't know what to do," I told her.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Rosalie, I know that you felt you need to think all this through and I fully understand this, but by what you tell me, this man is your perfect mate. That, and you are also completely in love with him. It's Thursday. You've been gone for…four days now. You didn't even give him a real goodbye. I know you, Rose, and you don't just run away when something has you just a bit afraid."

I could tell exactly what she was getting at. "I am not afraid to commit to him!" I hissed.

She smirked. "I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say that you've just never been in love like this and last weekend it all became so much more real to you. By what I've heard, Emmett is harmless unless he wants to be violent. There's nothing to fear of him unless he would want to hurt you."

"Emmett would never want to hurt me!" I defended him.

"And that, my dear, is the point," Andie replied with a smirk. "You were only afraid of what imagined would happen, not what you knew really would."

"You know how much I hate you right now?" I asked, but it was clear I was only joking. I stood up from the table at the restaurant and hugged her. "You're the best."

She laughed and hugged me back. I was doing a lot of hugging this trip.

"And don't you ever forget it."

"Never."

She left after that to go out with her boyfriend and I decided to go back to my Dad's house. He was busy with work, his law firm being so popular. Popular wasn't really the right word, actually. It was more like his law firm was at the top of the charts, but that was an entirely different sentence than I'd already begun to think. When I got into the door of the house, I went out to the backyard where Amy had inflated a pool for Annie and Tammy.

"Annie! Where'd you put that battery I gave you?"

**- - - - **

When I got home it wasn't particularly late, but I knew Emmett would be home in an hour or so. His car was in the driveway, but I assumed it was only because Alice or Jasper had driven in with him. Bella and Edward weren't home either; they'd probably gone out for the afternoon.

I parked my BMW in the garage and rushed up to mine and Emmett's bedroom. Putting my locket back around my neck, I ran to the bathroom to fix up my appearance. It was a little shabby because I didn't have everything I needed at my Dad's house.

I had an hour, at the most, before he'd be back, so I took to searching for my ring, hoping I could put it back on because I felt so naked without it on. I looked in my jewelry box, my dresser, his dresser, the desk, the bathroom, and every other place imaginable in the room. I didn't think he would leave it in another part of the house. Maybe he'd had Alice hold onto it. I'd have to ask him.

I sat on the bed and turned on the TV in my room, but there was nothing on.

The hour moved by slowly, but he didn't return, nor did anyone else. I sighed. Maybe they'd all gone out. Dammit, if only Annie hadn't hidden my cell phone battery in the damn toilet tank.

**EMMETT'S POV**

It was Thursday night and everyone had forced me out of the house to do something "FUN"…which meant we were going bowling.

_Yeah, that's my idea of a party… _I thought sarcastically.

Edward and I were in the front seats while Bella was in the back, icing the finger that had gotten stuck in the bowling ball. She and her ridiculous clumsy episodes were the only things that'd managed to bring a smile to my face since Sunday.

I was thankful that the two of them weren't being too cutesy in front of me. Bella had even offered to ride with Alice and Jasper, but I told her I needed her in the Volvo because that was the only way the ride home would be amusing. We pulled into the driveway and the house was dark, no different than when we'd left it. I sighed sadly and Bella picked up on it, before practically falling out of the car when Edward opened the back door for her because she'd been leaning on it.

I chuckled and got out of the car. I knelt down on the gravel. "Come on, Squirt, get on my back."

"I'm not getting on your back Emmett," she replied as she looked down at me.

I pouted. "Please? Just for old time's sake? Besides, I don't want you falling all over the placed in your un-intoxicated state."

"Heaven forbid I be _un-intoxicated_, Emmett." She stuck her tongue out at me, but got on my back regardless.

"Thank god for that. We all know how much worse off you'd be if you _were _intoxicated," I told her. I could tell she was rolling her eyes at me, as it was something she always did when she thought I was being ridiculous.

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"Yup. That's what Jasper told me the last time I laid down on his couch."

She giggled and I could see Jasper smirk as he shook his head at my silliness. I loved being silly. It was the only thing that could ever distract me. I stopped when we got to the kitchen and sat Bella down on the counter before I released her from my back.

"I'm going to go upstairs and change. I smell like bowling alley," I said to everyone before I walked upstairs. I turned on the lights in my room, but headed straight for the bathroom to wash my face. Funny, the sink was still wet.

I left and went over to my dresser, keeping my eyes on my feet as I walked. I was pathetic. I could only manage five minutes worth of smiles all evening and all my friends were trying to do the entire time was cheer me up. I looked at the dresser, realizing something wasn't right when a hand flashed out and grabbed my own.

"What…" I looked up, and sitting there, on my dresser, was Rosalie. I acted quickly, grabbing her in my arms and pulling her off the piece of furniture. I pulled her tight against my chest, refusing to ever let go. I spun her around as she giggled against me. "You're back." I stopped and looked into her eyes. "But are you staying?"

"I'm not leaving unless you're coming with me," she answered and I kissed her. A big, sloppy, wet kiss. She laughed at my enthusiasm and I laughed at myself too, but she quickly sobered up. "I'm sorry," she told me. "I shouldn't have left like that. It was stupid and hurtful and I was wrong to do so."

"It's alright Rosalie," I told her. Then I stopped. "Are…are we still engaged?"

"If it's okay with you," she began softly and I was afraid she was going to break us apart. "I'd still love to marry you."

Did you ever feel so ecstatic that you jumped eight feet in the air? Well, I was pretty sure I was jumping nine or ten feet up.

I pulled the box out of my pocket and took the ring out of it. "I'd love it if you would still marry me. And before I get too excited, I still owe you an apology. I was so wrong on Sunday. You tried time and time again to figure out why I was upset and I just shoved you off. Baby, I was wrong in the things I said and I'm grateful Bella forgave me for it. Would you believe she stood up to Lauren that—"

"Stay on track, Emmett," she said as she looked into my eyes with nothing less than her love for me.

"Right. Well, my point is that I was in a terribly bad mood because I lost the gym, but that gave me no right to take my anger out on anyone else," I finished.

She put her hand in mine. "You lost your gym?"

I nodded. "I had just gotten called into my lawyer's office when I got a call from the guy selling it. The basics of the conversation were 'we wanted more money, and there are people willingly offering more than you are, so we are accepting their offer over yours'."

"Oh, gosh. They can do that to you? After accepting your offer?"

"Apparently. But that doesn't matter right now," I answered as I took her left hand and placed her ring on her finger. "Because as long as I've got you, all is right."

She kissed me and I happily responded. Our fingers were intertwined between us and I pulled away, placing my forehead against hers to look into her eyes. She smiled as she spoke. "I don't care if this isn't one of Bella's romance novels. When it comes to the two of us, love conquers all."

I couldn't have agreed more.


	15. The Way We Looked Into Each Other's Eyes

**a/n: it's 1:30 AM here and i'm tired so you all had better like this or you will not have a happy author on your hands...**

**_every outfit in this chapter has a picture on my profile (for Bella) so i suggest you go check them out..._**

**Dedication: **_it goes to...drum roll please...i said drum roll please...urgh, fin, i'll do it myself **goes upstairs to attic to dad's drumset and does the drumroll on the snare drum**... **PiercingGoldenEyes **with... **another drum roll**... **12 reviews!!**_

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**EDWARD'S POV**

Rose and Emmett didn't emerge from their bedroom on Friday, which didn't matter to me because Bella and I relaxed in her room while she wrote. At one point, Bella decided she needed to put on some music so that we could ignore the couple in the other room, which helped a little.

I was perfectly content to just sit with Bella while she wrote, which I thought was strange. I didn't quite know why I wasn't yet beyond boredom, but that didn't matter. Every so often, I'd turn to her and kiss her shoulder or arm or cheek or neck or any other part of her I could reach. Every time I did so, she'd giggle and stop writing to kiss me back, and then return to her writing, typing furiously.

I tried my best not to distract her, because I knew she needed this to be done, but I couldn't help asking her what she was giggling about or why she grumbled certain things under her breath. She always seemed broken out of a trance; as if she'd forgotten I was sitting beside her and had been caught off guard when she heard my voice. The look on her face was always so adorable as that 'when did he get here?' question flashed across her expression.

Saturday, Emmett and Rose were in the living room by the time everyone awoke and, as Emmett so graciously pointed out, "We aren't having sex because Rosie's got her period." Rosalie then whacked him in the head with the magazine she was holding. And still he continued. "What? I just thought Edward should know why he won't be getting any for the next few days."

Bella blushed from where she sat beside him on the sofa as she looked at me and whacked Emmett in the back of the head with a pillow before burying her face into it.

"Okay…" I trailed off before removing the pillow from Bella's face and kissing her good morning. But Emmett couldn't just leave it at that.

"You know, because God's got some sick sense of humor, all these girl's biological clocks are completely synchronized... start the same day, end the same day, which is in three and a half days exactly by the way, it's always precisely on the—"

"Shut up Emmett!" Alice (who was on the floor with a magazine), Rose, and Bella all shouted in unison.

"See?...OW!" The idiot just couldn't shut up, so he got whacked by all three women.

"Emmett, quit while you're behind," Jasper told him while he handed Alice a coffee and a toasted bagel.

"Remind me why Emmett isn't in therapy," I muttered to Jasper as I sat in front of Bella on the floor, leaning back against where her legs would have been had they not been curled up beneath her.

"Because we all realize it wouldn't do him any good. Kindergarten, on the other hand…" I chuckled as Jasper trailed off in his response. Emmett really was just a little kid most of the time and could always use the discipline most children were taught in kindergarten. He obviously didn't learn it the first time…or the second time.

So, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday all went just as Friday had as far as Bella and I went. Alice and Jasper clung together the entire weekend, as did Rosalie and Emmett, before going back to work on Monday. We were all doing a lot in individual couples, and we were all inseparable from our significant others because of what occurred the past Sunday.

My bond with Bella was growing fast, at a steady speedy pace. It was almost scary, but there was this calming sensation that came over me whenever she was nearby. It was this calm that kept me from freaking out, and most likely from landing me my own place on Jasper's couch. I was sure that the hardest part of it was not being in control of it. I'd always been in control of everything that happened to me, and this bond was definitely in the hands of another being.

Wednesday, Bella was in a strange mood. I didn't understand why until she started babbling, wondering what she would say, what she would do, how the pictures would come out, if she would look like a dork or a model or the average, plain Jane she was.

That was when I stopped her.

"Bella, you are not a 'plain Jane' and you are far from average," I told her as I sat her on her bed.

"Oh, put your glasses on Edward," she responded.

"You are beautiful, how do you not see that?" I asked, surprised she could think she was anything less.

"Brown eyes. Plain and boring. Brown hair. Nothing special there. I'm not tall like Rosalie or petite like Alice. Average height, average weight. I'm not endowed with a nice…rack, nor do I have a great ass—"

I cut her off, actually disgusted by the way she was degrading herself. "Bella, your eyes are a beautiful chocolate brown, deep and thoughtful, drawing me in deeper and deeper until I'm drowning in the color. Your hair is silky and smooth, a gift to touch. You are your own individual, so don't compare yourself to Alice or Rosalie, please. You have long legs and a toned body. What's wrong with being average height and weight? It means you're healthy, and honestly that's all that I could ever ask for. And why would it matter if you're well endowed or not as far as your breasts, they look enticing to me." I sat beside her on the bed and took her hands in mine while I leaned in to suckle her neck, being careful not to leave a mark because it would show in her pictures tomorrow. "And," I continued, pulling her onto my lap so that she straddled me. I placed my hands on her cute butt and squeezed, causing her to yelp. "You've got a wonderful ass."

She seemed deep in thought, before suddenly giggling and attacking my lips. "Wow. You're amazing." I didn't know what I had done other than telling her the truth.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you would say those things about me."

"Just stating the truth, sweetheart," I replied before kissing her thoroughly as I fell back on the bed.

- - - -

**BELLA'S POV**

Alice, Rose, Edward, and I arrived on set with fifteen minutes to spare. Jasper and Emmett had passed on coming. Jasper had a new patient and Emmett was checking out a new possible location for his gym. Alice and Rose, on the other hand, nearly choked me when I teased them saying they couldn't come. When they lunged for me, I handed them the passes Tyler mailed over. Edward was doing whatever I did and I was starting to feel a bit bad that everything we were doing was what I planned on. We'd have to spend tomorrow "Edward-style" and the next few days would be whatever he wanted.

We'd left the house around 5:30 this morning, Alice driving. Poor Edward hadn't any idea what was going on. Alice and Rose were the opposite of half asleep Edward and me, bouncing in their seats, pushing us out the door.

Tyler had managed to be there to prep me a little, but left in a rush because he had some work to catch up on. I laughed when he darted the second Edward wrapped his arm around me and handed me some coffee.

"You're a life saver," I said in relief as I leaned into him.

"It's just coffee," he answered, kissing the top of my head.

"I was talking about getting rid of Tyler, but the coffees pretty great too."

A little while later, I was shuffled off to wardrobe where I was to select an outfit from each of the seven racks.

The man who'd introduced himself as Embry, who I was pretty sure wasn't straight, began explaining to me all of it. "We're going to be doing seven different parts in this photo shoot, each with a different outfit. Each rack is a different occasion. The first is formal, the second, and third are dress for public informal appearances, the forth is something fun and random, the fifth and sixth are comfy, everyday wear, and the seventh is lounge and sleepwear. Pretty simple. All of these fabulous pieces were put together by me, so if you dislike something, keep your opinion to yourself." His cell phone rang and he excused himself with a "pick away".

I knew I didn't have much time to get everything so I quickly scanned the first rack of formal dresses. The only thing I could think of was that there had to be thousands of dollars worth of dresses on there. I didn't even know why I needed such a formal dress, but I guess they also used these things for advertising and what not so I grabbed the dress which stood out to me the most, mainly because of its color. It was teal and a long formal dress. It was sexy, strapless, and definitely costly. There was a bow on the bust and it had a mermaid body with sequins. Sparkly. When I tried it on, it fit perfectly, but the heels attached to the hanger were leaving me a little wobbly.

Second rack, I chose a "Foley + Corinna pleated ruffle peplum blouse. 3/4 sleeve v-neck blouse with fanned pleats at arms and neckline and ruffle detail down packet. Contrasting black lace drawstring ties at neck, elbows and waist…" as the nice description read that was tagged inside the shirt, and a knee length black skirt that flowed out almost completely horizontally if I spun fast enough. I grabbed the black ballet flats, relieved I wouldn't always be making a fool out of myself.

Third rack: "Lauren Ralph Lauren "Jazmyn" splitneck ruffle cotton tunic. The romantic flourish of a four-layer ruffled bib, set against the slim, body-conscious silhouette of our "Jazmyn" tunic. Redefines feminine style with a double-ruffle collar with button closure. V-neck with four hook-and-eye closures may be left open. Sleeveless design." I was loving these descriptions. There were white capris and strappy gold heels that accompanied it.

I picked a black "corset blouse" off of the fourth rack. Cap sleeves, button up front, and lace-up "detailing". It was a pretty cute top. I especially likes the white-wash flare jeans. None of the outfits came with shoes so I assumed that was part of the "fun and random" aspect of it.

The fifth and sixth were more my forte. I chose a navy blue Juicy Couture tracksuit, and the white sneakers they put with it. From the sixth rack I chose a light blue denim miniskirt (because what photo shoot was complete without one of those?) and a bright blue Ralph Lauren polo shirt with three quarter sleeves, a white color, and gold buttons. There were white flip-flop wedges that came with this one.

Off the seventh rack I picked "boyfriend" flannel pjs. They were white with "Victoria's Secret" written as a signature all over it in a dark gray. They were cute and looked super comfy. No shoes…obviously.

With everything picked out, I opened the door of the room, spotting Rose and Alice chatting up the ladies working in hair and makeup and Edward sitting against the wall reading a book, his sexy, rimless glasses in place. Seeing me open the door, Embry returned quickly and looked at all my choices.

"Hmmm, you're not as hopeless as I thought," he mused.

I laughed. "I am, I just asked myself WWRAAD?"

"I'm sorry, WWRAAD?"

"What Would Rose And Alice Do?"

"Okay… Well, let me just go tell hair and makeup your selections so they may decide what they'll be doing." He picked up all the descriptions from the outfits and the convenient little pictures that went with it and scurried off from the room. I ventured out into the studio which was kind of chilly. I shivered as I walked over to Edward. I was, however, interrupted by the woman who was running this whole thing.

"Hi Helen, what's up?" I asked before she started dragging me over across the set to where three guys were standing.

"These are three of the four possible men who the casting directors were deciding between to be photographed with you in the formal photo and a few others," she explained. "One of them still hasn't shown up." I looked at them. They all had the same sun-tanned skin tone. One had black hair, one blonde, and one brown. "Anyway, we wanted to see which one you look best with. So please stand — there you are!" I looked to see who she was talking about and I saw Edward walking toward me, book in hand, glasses in place. Why did we have to be here and not in my bedroom?

Edward looked confused. "What do you mean 'there you are'?" he asked.

"You were supposed to report to my assistant at nine this morning. Care to tell me why you're late?" She sounded a little frustrated.

I laughed. "You must have him confused with someone else," I told her as Edward wrapped his arms around me from behind and pressed a kiss into my hair. "This is my boyfriend, not one of your models, Helen."

She looked at the both of us for a moment, examining us and I blushed out of habit under her scrutiny. "Well, you'll do anyway." She turned to the other boys and shooed them. "You're all dismissed. Better luck next time."

"Wait, but I thought I had to be photographed with one of those guys…"

"And now you'll be photographed with your boyfriend. From what I heard from Mr. Crowley, you tend to be a little shy and awkward around other people anyway, so you'll take better pictures with someone you're comfortable. Plus, you too look very natural together."

I looked up at Edward as he chuckled, Helen walking off to attend to more business when she turned around, grabbed Edward, and made off with him toward the rack of tuxedos in wardrobe. "Sorry Edward!" I called after him.

"It's alright, Bella!" he called back.

With all that said and done, I was directed to get dressed in the Juicy Couture tracksuit and then to go to hair and makeup where they put on natural looking makeup and then put my hair up into a pony tail, high on my head.

They set up everything on this white floor with a white backdrop behind it and set up a milk chocolate colored two seater couch. They handed me one of my own books and flipped on the lights. That's when I understood why the studio was so chilly.

I leaned back against the pillow which stood between me and the arm rest and folded my legs up underneath me, opening the book _First Sight _to my favorite part and reading. I wasn't a terrific actress, so I had to really do it. After a while, I started changing up my positions, evening lying so I was off the couch, upside down a little bit, which the photographer, Quil, loved.

Then they did the sleepwear so I didn't have to drastically change my makeup, just reapply, and then they pulled my hair out of the pony tail and fluffed it up a little. They had me wear a light pink tank under the PJs and then sent me back out to the white background where this time there were just a few pillows laid out.

I was supposed to "capture my true essence", whatever the hell that meant, in this shoot, so I decided I'd try to bring out my fun side in this shoot unless it was the formal or public appearances. I stacked up some of the pillows and sat pretzel style on top of them, smiling at the camera and laughing as Rose and Alice stood just off to the side, acting ridiculous. I laid down on my back and put my hands behind my head and they took pictures like that. On my side, propped up on my arm. Lining up the pillows and lying across them and pretending to sleep. All sorts of different things.

Then it was my fun and random. The set remained blank this time and my hair stayed down basically the same as it was, fluffed a little bit more, though. My makeup was completely revamped (a/n: you gotta love that word) and made more noticeable. Purple eyeliner (supposed to make my eyes pop), like pink eye shadow with pink glitter. My lips were a light pink too. I struck all sorts of poses before I just started moving around, jumping around and spinning. Hey, it was supposed to be fun and random. At one point, I even went down into a split, which made Alice and Rose laugh, knowing that it was the first time I'd ever done that outside of the house since they'd gotten me to do it.

My informal public appearances were done in a more serious manner. My hair was up in a bun in one and clipped half up in the other. My makeup looked kind of professional. I leaned against the back wall and made serious faces. Alice and Rose were cracking up. These weren't too interesting. I did some really "perfectly pretty" smiles. Basically, I mocked every model or star I'd seen featured in this magazine. These weren't too fun, but I was positive they'd come out nicely.

Then they set me up for the formal. They curled my hair and my makeup was made dark yet not over done. I was sure Alice and Rose would be asking them how they did that in a few minutes. I walked out on unstable feet to what I was officially calling the "white room" and there was Edward, standing tall and gorgeous in a tuxedo. His grin upon seeing me was devastatingly amazing and I felt my already wobbly legs weakening. Rose had the mind to help me the rest of the way where she handed me over to Edward.

"You look ravishing," he whispered in my ear as he held onto me tightly. "If the makeup ladies would let me, I'd kiss you right now."

I giggled. "Screw the makeup ladies."

"No no, they've already put makeup on me to make me 'camera ready'. They threatened some waterproof eyeliner and lipstick if I messed with your makeup." He shivered at the thought of either while I laughed.

"Now you know why I don't fight Alice and Rose too hard as far as Bella Barbie goes. Their threats are far worse than just going through with their little game."

"Yes, but make up like that on a guy? Some guys may like it, but I'm not one for that…"

We stood and talked and at some point the photographer starting taking pictures of us. I couldn't stop smiling as I looked at Edward. The makeup wasn't too visible, but just enough so that I thought it was kind of funny. There had been some music playing all through out the shoot, varying depending on what we were photographing, and now softer music was on.

"Dance with me?" Edward asked, pulling me closer.

"I don't—"

"That would be a terrific shot," Quil said, encouraging Edward as he began to move with me in his arms. My right hand and his left were intertwined while his right hand was on the center of my back and my left on his shoulder. He spun me out and I began smiling wider than before as I managed to stay on my feet. By the time he spun me a second time, I was actually laughing. It was fun when you could stay vertical. Edward pressed his lips against mine, but didn't deepen the kiss so that my makeup wouldn't be ruined. "That's good, you guys. Go get ready for the last shot."

That was the one with the denim mini, the blue Ralph Lauren polo, and the dreaded flip flop wedges. They decided to straighten my hair out and removed all my makeup to go for a more natural look again. Light pink eye shadow, brown eyeliner, shiny lipgloss, and sparkles they decided to dump into my hair. I was sure it was all designer stuff too. The glitter, I admitted, did look really cool.

You could see the necklace Edward gave me and they made me put on a Juicy Couture ring with a silver band and gold crown along with a really chunky gold and silver bracelet.

The music was more fun again when I got back out to the white room. The set was still plain. Edward was talking to Quil and wearing his very sexy rimless glasses. He was also wearing a tight white t-shirt and loose khakis. He had on flip flops too, but they were brown cloth ones. I hadn't seen him looking this good since he was naked and in bed with me. I laughed at myself for even thinking like that, but knew I was turned on by his appearance nonetheless.

"We'll just need to be careful that your glasses don't reflect the light into the camera," Quil said to Edward as I slipped my hand into his. "I like the sparkles there, Bells," Quil commented.

I smirked as he called me by Emmett's pet name for me. "Pretty sweet, right?"

We went out onto the set with the instructions of "Be sexy, coupley, lovey dovey, or all of the above."

"Thanks for being really clear, Quil," I remarked.

"Don't be smart, Bella. Just do as you're told," he answered laughing.

Edward sat down on the floor in the middle of the white room and pulled me down into his lap, surprising me. You could hear the camera snapping the pictures, but as my eyes caught Edward's, I drifted off into my own little world. Edward leaned forward and rubbed his nose against mine and I smirked as I crossed my legs and leaned further back from him. My hands were locked in his on my stomach and when my head touched the floor, I shifted so that he fell back and I could be on top of him. He laughed while I sat cross legged on his hard stomach, probably giving him a view of my underwear, our locked hands now in my lap. I bounced up and down when he chuckled, which only made me laugh.

"How are you not even struggling for breath under my weight?" I asked.

"Light as a feather, sweetheart."

I leaned forward and he released my hands to tuck my hair behind my ear on the left side of my face. My lips brushed against his for a moment before I said, "Tag, you're it," and jumped off of him.

I leaned up against the back wall that had the white back drop on it and Edward got up and stood next to me, mirroring my stance as he turned his head to look at me. He had to look down to meet my eyes and I had to look up, but our faces were still only a bit apart, thanks to my wedges.

He grabbed me and stood me in front of him so that I faced him. "I want to try something fun…if you're up for it," he whispered.

I pretended to think as the camera continued to make that clicking sound every time Quil took a picture. "Alright."

"Quil said to try some fun poses, and I figured that it would look pretty neat in a picture, but I'm going to need some help setting you up," he told me as he told Quil to wait for a second and asked him to help. Quil was well built, which probably meant he'd be picking me up.

"I need you to help me steady her once I lift her so that I can hold onto her hands instead of her waist, okay?" Edward instructed.

"Sir, yes sir," Quil replied as Edward pushed off the wall and stood against me.

"I'm going to lift you and I need you to wrap your legs around my waist and lock your ankles behind my back," Edward told me as his hands went to my waist and then moved down to the backs of my thighs. Quil wolf-whistled as Edward locked his grip on me and I placed my hands on Edward's shoulders, a little unsure about this right now. I was sure that in a second, my skirt was going to ride up because I was going to be straddling Edward's waist.

Then Edward lifted me and I quickly locked my legs around his waist. I'd had a good day today, my good luck wasn't going to last long, though I was sure Edward wouldn't drop me. Carefully, Edward backed up to the wall and leaned against it, only at his shoulders, putting the rest of his body at a slight horizontal.

"Okay, now Quil, hold Bella up while I grab her hands. Bella, we're going to grab opposite hands. Instead of right in left and right in left, it'll be right in right and left in left, like we're shaking hands," Edward explained to me, looking me in the eye which let me know that if I wasn't careful I could hurt myself.

"Got it," I said as I felt Quil's large hands on my waist and Edward's hands moved from my legs to the small space between our bodies. I removed my hands from his shoulders and took his hands as he had told me. "Don't let go yet, Quil. Bella, I need you to unhook your legs and bend your knees as if you're kneeling on the wall."

I wasn't so sure about this. That would lead to serious problems if we were unsuccessful. On the other hand, I trusted Edward, and for two reasons. One, I loved him. Two, he was a doctor.

I did as he asked cautiously, nervous that one wrong move would end badly. Edward straightened up a little, pressing almost all of his back against the wall now and my shins and knees touching it. My legs went up along his sides, almost touching his arms. "Alright. Quil, lower Bella back so that she's upside down. Bella, you can't let go of my hands and you need to keep your arms locked straight."

I looked at him like he was crazy while Quil lowered me backward. Once I started going upside down, it actually hit me how crazy this could be. I also realized how cool this could look. My arms locked straight and so did Edward's. Quil let go of me and I didn't fall. I look in a breath and looked at Alice and Rose who were laughed at something. I looked up at Edward who was looking down at me with a smile and gorgeous green eyes behind rimless glasses.

"Ready?" he asked me.

"Let's get this going before all the blood rushes to my head," I answered with a laugh, returning Edward's glorious smile.

We stayed like this for a few minutes as I laughed at Alice and Rose who had once again started acting ridiculous to get some smiles out of Edward and I. Soon, I couldn't stay light this any longer and we carefully helped me return to my feet, at which point I ended up falling over like the spaz I was. Edward sat down next to me and lifted my head into his lap, placing a small kiss on my lips before rubbing out my skull where I hit it. I wanted to kiss for real, but I knew the makeup ladies would not be happy with that so I refrained.

Edward pulled me so I was sitting up in his lap, my back against his chest. I took his hands into mine and turned my face so our lips touched, closing my eyes at the small bit of contact. Edward's tongue slid along my lower lip and, somehow finding some incredibly self-control, kept my lips locked shut, smiling. He chuckled moved us so that I was lying on my back and he was on top of me. His chest was pressed against mine and he was supporting only some of his weight on his arms.

His left hand moved to my neck and picked up the locket that hung there. "Hmmm, they let you wear this," he mused quietly so only Quil and I could hear. He dropped the necklace and returned his left hand to the floor to support more of his body weight before moving his forehead forward to rest against mine.

"Only because I love that necklace and I refused to remove it. I'm surprised you didn't see it when we were doing the formal photos," I said to him as I gazed into his eyes.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I chuckled as I thought about why I didn't notice the necklace during the formal. I was preoccupied with other things like her lovely chest which was accentuated by that evil little bow and also by trying to keep her upright while we danced.

She brought her hand up to my face and traced my cheek bones and nose and lips. I kissed her fingers. "And that's a wrap," Quil said, suddenly reminding me that we were being photographed. It also reminded me that we were done with the photos for now and I could mess up Bella's make up all I wanted, thus I did exactly what I wanted to do since I came out from sizing up my tux and the outfit I was wearing now. I kissed her senseless, laying here on the ground. I heard the camera shudder and pulled back from Bella as I realized Quil had decided to snap a few photos of our kiss.

We were ushered off to have makeup removed and change back into our clothes, though we were told we could keep what ever we wore. Bella insisted they keep it, but they answered that they couldn't because it'd been worn already.

Alice and Rose were giddy when we returned.

"Lizzie and Cynthia gave us such _great _tips about the hair and makeup," Rose blurted out the second we were in ear shot.

"I can't wait until we get to play Bella Barbie again," Alice exclaimed. Bella groaned and moved behind me, placing her delicate hands on my back as she tried to hide from the two beauticians in training. I chuckled. These three were too much sometimes.

Helen materialized suddenly. "Bella, we need you to come over to do the interview. You three may come along too if you'd like."

I took Bella's hand in mine as we followed Helen to an area that looked like a small lounge. A young man with sandy-brown hair and dark skin was sitting in an arm chair with a notebook and a recorder in hand. Bella's eyes lit up as she ripped her hand from my grasp and rushed to the man, who'd stood up seconds after we entered, wrapping her arms around her.

"Ohmigod, Seth! What are you doing here?" she asked and I felt a bit of jealousy course through me as he hugged her back, holding her tightly to his body.

"Did I forget to mention I was a journalist with _People Magazine_ and was assigned to your interview last time we spoke?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah!" Bella answered as he released her. He looked up at me then and smirked.

"I take it this is Edward." He extended his hand to me. "Seth Clearwater."

I shook his hand. "Doctor Edward Cullen."

Seth chuckled. "Protective. I like him already Bells. No need to worry, my friend, Bella and I were always close, but never like that."

Bella's eyes widened as she turned to me. "Gosh, Edward. Seth and I were raised together. It was always Seth, Jacob, and Bella, the three little monsters."

"Besides, I'm as good as off the market for eternity," Seth continued, causing Bella to whirl around to look at him.

"Are you really that deep already?" Seth nodded, grinning. Bella jumped at him again. "I'm so happy for you Seth! I never thought you'd settle down. Wait, I thought you were living in Phoenix still."

"I am, but the editor knew you and I grew up together and sent me off to write this article. That's when I realized you'd really hit it big and thought I'd be able to get in contact with you through a fan site or something."

I sat down on the couch and Bella immediately sat down beside me as if there was a string which held us together, causing me to grin as she leaned into me, melding into my side perfecting. Seth winked at me and I suppressed a chuckle.

Seth began asking routine questions like how she came up with the ideas for her books.

"_First Sight. _Well, obviously, I wrote it with Jacob Black and I in mind as our romance flourished."

"But you grew up with Mr. Black. Why would it be called first sight?"

"Well, that's the point. Is that the characters had known each other for their entire lives, but then they for the first time see each other in another light, in another situation, away from all other factors, and that first sight of another aspect of that person is what they fall in love with."

"And _A Man's Perspective?_"

"_A Man's Perspective _was inspired by you, actually, Seth."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Your two best friends fall in love, and leave you to fend for yourself. The main character in this book spends his newfound free time burying himself in a new job and school, only to fall for the woman he's working with. Of course, this story is written from his point of view in first person, as opposed to third person, thus the title."

"And what about _Second Chances_?"

"I come from a broken family. My mother and father split up when I was young and so it's clear my inspiration lies with them in this book. It's about a young married couple who divorce when they graduate college and go off into the real world, only to reunite years later through a dating website, new friends, and chance meetings. They don't waste their second chance."

He finished running through the other three books before finally coming to the question that I was sure everyone was desperate to know the answer to.

"What are you working on currently?"

She thought for a second before looking up at me. "I don't know, honey, should I tell them or make them wait?"

The arm I had wrapped around her squeezed quickly before I answered with, "As long as you don't give it all away, I think it's safe to tell them a little something."

"Alright. If I have it my way, the book will be titled _Love Bites_. And, let's just say, these main characters aren't exactly human."

I chuckled. She was definitely trying to pull in more readers with that.

Questions remained routine until Seth began asking about Bella and I.

"How long have you two been together?" he asked.

Since this was Bella's interview, I let her answer. "Officially? Two weeks, five days."

"What do you mean by 'officially'?" Seth inquired.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I told you this story already mister."

I chuckled. "She means that while we had kissed a few days before we'd taken on the titles of boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Was there any dating period?" Seth asked.

"We live in the same house, so dating is going a little beyond, but we were spending incredible amounts of time together without anyone else around so I suppose you could say that," Bella answered.

"You two live together?" I was sure he already knew all of this, but for the sake of his credibility, he wanted to get everything clearly recorded.

Bella went on to explain all of this and I listened, still very interested in the story behind these living conditions.

Then came the questions that had my hands balled into fists. "What about Jacob Black?"

"He's old news," Bella said as she tried to loosen my fisted left hand that was next to her hip. She rubbed my forearm soothingly. "We'd grown up best friends, tried the dating thing, decided we were in love, got engaged, and then broke apart. I was devastated, of course, but if I were married to Jacob now, would I have ever been able to have this chance to be with Edward?"

That calmed me.

"Most days I wish Jacob and I had never gotten together. It would have saved me years of useless moping and I would have met Edward years earlier by going to college in Chicago like I was planning to do, but Jacob hadn't been accepted so I didn't go. Granted, had I not gone to college here in Seattle, I wouldn't have had my tight-knit family I do here and now in Forks, but I would have met them anyway through Edward. Who knows how different my life could have been…"

I was trying to figure what she was saying. Basically, she wishes that she _wouldn't_ have dated Jacob, so that she _would_ have gone to Chicago like she'd planned, so that she _would _have met me some five years prior to now, even though that meant she _wouldn't _have yet met Emmett, Jasper, Alice, or Rosalie. Was I getting this right?

"Still, this worked out just fine. I have incredible friends, a gentlemanly boyfriend, and a career that's to die for. And if I could, I wouldn't change a thing because this is how I like it."

Her fingers now intertwined with my hand that had loosened, blood flowing back into my fingers, and I kissed her temple as Alice and Rosalie 'aw'ed.

The interview was finished about a half hour later and all five of us went out for drinks. Bella and Alice stuck with sodas, I got a beer, Rose had a martini, and Seth got something fruity, a drink at which everyone laughed.

Seth and Bella said quick good byes, promising emails, text messages, and phone calls. Bella asked Seth to give her father something, handing over something she'd had in her purse. It looked like a gold necklace, but I'd never seen her wearing it. With one last hug and a "tell Leah she's a bitch and I love her to death", Bella got into Alice's Porsche.

"You've got a great girl," Seth told me as we shook hands. "You break her heart and I'll fly here to personally kick your ass."

"Stand in line. There are a number of people ahead of you buddy."

- - -

A week later, we received a disk in the mail with a letter from Quil.

_Dear Bella & Edward,_

_These are all the photos I took at the shoot. There were more than enough to choose from for the spread and the magazine with be sending more information about which ones are actually going to be used and what for. They'll also send you a copy of the spread and basically exactly what it will look like when it's published in the magazine. But, I thought you'd like to see what you look like in the shoot Bella and just how naturally photogenic you are. Also, I thought you both would like to have pictures of the both of you together._

_Enjoy them! Quil Ateara_

"This is nice of him," I said, as Bella read over the letter as well. She and I walked up to her room where she'd left her laptop and laid on the bed while I loaded in the disk.

She leaned into my side, but it wasn't enough contact. I put the laptop in her lap, picked her up, and placed her on my lap, looking over her shoulder as the disk's contents came up in a window on the screen.

We looked through the pictures and Bella looked gorgeous in every one of them. Her eyes were radiating happiness and she looked so free and cheerful, what she most likely was all the time before Jacob messed with her heart. Now she was only carefree when she was around people she knew she could trust.

"You're right. That thing where you held me upside down was pretty awesome," Bella commented. I looked at the picture and sure enough they looked amazing. The way we looked at each other. The crazy, fun way we stood. Bella's beauty. I didn't know why Helen had wanted me to wear my glasses, but they actually added to the look.

Bella's hair was sparkling under the bright lights in all of the pictures from that shoot, but her eyes glittered even more, as did mine.

When ever I looked at her, I couldn't have torn my eyes away if I wanted to. Everything I did with her came naturally, stuff we'd done all the time since we'd met as we played around and kidded with each other.

The shoots weren't in a perfect order, though. The formal photos popped up next and I looked at Bella in her beautiful teal dress. Her smile and her laughter in the photo as I spun her.

I looked at the way we looked into each others eyes. The way we held each other. I looked at the happiness, the feelings that transpired between us. I looked at home I easily smiled every time she muttered something to herself or giggled at our ridiculous friends. I looked at how I couldn't tear myself away from her, not from her grasp, not from her presence, not from her.

I looked at the way I looked at her again, I looked at the expression hidden within the green of my own eyes.

I looked at that spark.

I looked at that feeling.

I looked at the love that shown, hidden within the color of my eyes, that I felt for Bella.

And looking at these pictures, I realized something I probably wouldn't have realized for a while without seeing this for myself.

I was in love with Isabella Swan. And just knowing that was in itself a relief.


	16. Mark Your Territory

**a/n: alright, so this chapter is a little bit shorter than they've all been in the past, but I decided to make it all Edward's POV and by doing that, there's a lot less length to the chapter. Anyway, theres a lemon so have fun with that. Oh, and I think I'm a little high on permanent marker fumes lol. The stuff about the piano competitions is true, I would know because my mom used to be a competitive pianist and she played a competition at Carnegie Hall and the money paid for half of her 42,000 dollar baby grand piano...**

**I'm almost done with Dreaming Under The Same Moon, for those of you who read that, and when it's finished, I'll be working on a second AH story that'll be kind of fun. That'll also be the end of my A Never Ending Romance installments...**

**Dedication Time!!!!! **_thank you guys for all of your prettiful reviews, and while i had a lot less for my last chapter than Iwas hoping for, I'll forgive you all if you review this update! Anyways...this chapter goes to **Bethany Knight **with **11 Reviews!!!!** I promise you all that if you also have 11 reviews, you will get the dedication of one of the next chappies, but I am going to go first by favoritism, then by alphabetical order and i actually have an Excel sheet with all your names and the number of reviews on it (yes i'm that OCD, but I'm not OCD, I'm CDO becuase that way all the letters are in alphabetical order)..._

_SILENCE! I KEEEELLL YOU!!!!! Okay, Enjoy..._

**EDWARD'S POV**

We'd known each other now for a few days more than a month already and I'd just figured out last night that I was in love with her. It was July 1st now and I held Bella tightly in my arms as I woke myself up, having opened my eyes a few seconds ago to see Bella's beautiful face all wide awake.

"I didn't think you were a morning person," I grumbled to her and she giggled in response.

"I'm not much of a morning person. It's ten already. But, I admit, I'm much more a fan of waking up early as of late," she answered, purring the last sentence, her finger trailing down my bare chest and to my abs. I suddenly became very aware of the fact that neither of us were wearing any clothing and we were wrapped tightly around each other, covered only by the sheets of my bedroom. _Don't think about that_, I scolded myself as I felt my body respond to this knowledge.

I kissed her luscious lips good morning in agreement. Pulling back, I asked, "What are we doing today?"

"Up to you. We're going to do today Edward-Style."

I chuckled. "Are we really? Says who?" I teased her.

"Says me, that's who." She folded her arms over her chest and the sheets that covered her body, pushing her breasts upward so that her cleavage showed over the edge of the sheet like a tight shirt.

"Careful, or we'll be spending today Bedward-style," I warned, teasing her still but half serious. She looked down at herself and blushed, but smirked at me as she dropped her arms and removed herself from my bed, boldly standing beside the bed with nothing on. I was floored as I knew my arousal was obvious. Her body was absolutely flawless as she strode around my bedroom, picking up my dress shirt, which I'd been wearing last night, and her bra and panty set from the floor and putting them all on.

Her hair was voluminous from what we'd done last night and her long legs weren't cover in any way by the shirt that barely covered her gorgeous butt. She only buttoned the shirt half way, leaving it open to the top of her stomach, revealing her chest to below her bra, one that had the same effect on her breasts as crossing her arms had.

I got up from the bed and threw on my boxers, watching the beautiful blush that ran over her cheeks again as she saw me. "Enjoying the show?" I asked her and her wandering eyes.

She quirked an eyebrow at me before looking down at my boxers. "I could ask you the same question."

I stepped over to her and pressed my lips to hers, still feeling the same spark I'd felt the first time my hand had met hers, the only difference being that I understood it so much more now. Her mouth opened at the same second I did and our tongues intermingled as my arms wrapped around her waist. She stepped closer to me so that she was pressed up against me entirely and could feel my very obvious erection.

I grabbed her ass with my hands and pulled her closer into my body, if that were even possible, feeling her lips turn up into a smile in our kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself onto her tip-toes so that her height was more even to mine and she ground her body into my erection. When she heard me moan, she pulled back and giggled all the way out of my room and across the hall to hers. I looked after her, her laughter growing louder the second she'd shut her bedroom door and locked it.

"Tease!" I called across the hall, only increasing her amusement. I could hear Emmett's laugh boom from the hallway. "Shit," I muttered to myself, running my hand through my hair. I waited a few minutes in the hopes that Bella might return, but when I heard her shower turn on, I knew there was no hope. I sighed and turned to my own bathroom, knowing I'd be taking a very cold shower.

- - - -

"How was your shower?" Bella asked teasingly, smirking at me for the hundredth time this morning from my bed as I left my bathroom in a pair of gym shorts and no shirt.

"Lonely," I answered as I fell onto the unmade bed beside her.

"I'm sorry. That was mean of me," she apologized seriously.

"It's okay," I answered, taking her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers. She leaned down to me and pressed a sweat kiss to my lips, her wet hair falling onto my face.

"So, what are we doing today?" she asked. She was still wearing my dress shirt, but it was buttoned up a bit more so that she wasn't showing as much cleavage.

I thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know really."

"We've always been doing what I want to do, pretty much, since you got here. You don't honestly want to spend your entire summer doing nothing but what others want to do."

"I'll always do whatever you want to do," I told her, and I knew that was undoubtedly true.

She frowned at me. "But that's not going to be what we're doing. I want to spend today however you like to spend your time, just like we've done for me nearly the entire month."

"I don't really know what to do around here…"

"What did you do before you moved here?"

"Went to classes, did homework, studied, hung out with Tan—" I stopped mid-sentence.

Bella looked at me curiously. "Tan is a weird name...for a person...for a color it's alright, but for a person, Edward? Any reason you cut yourself off?" I looked away, not wanting to answer that question, only to realize I'd basically just answered that already. "Edward…" she trailed off warningly. "Edward, answer my question."

"Tanya. We were really good friends," I told her, but she knew that wasn't all of it.

"Just really good _friends_?"

"Yes," I answered probably too quickly.

She stood up and removed her hand from mine, leaving the room and going into her own. She didn't look happy like she did only two minutes ago. I got up immediately and went to enter her room, only to have her door shut in my face.

"Bella?" I asked through the door.

"What'd you do, Edward?" Emmett asked from his own doorway.

"Nothing, Emmett," I said as I knocked on the door.

"Let me guess, something having to do with Tanya," Emmett shot at me. I turned to look at him, surprised.

"How'd you…"

"I talk to our parents at least twice a week, have since I left Chicago for New York. They've told me their concerns as far as your _friendship _went with Tanya."

I turned back to the door, not responding. I knocked a few more times. "Bella, please open the door."

"It's unlocked dipshit!" She called from inside.

I winced and opened the door to see her on her laptop, situated in the middle of her bed typing.

"Bella I—"

"Shut it, I'm writing," she muttered as her fingers moved faster than I'd ever seen them.

I sat down on the bed, facing her as she didn't even glance up from her laptop.

I took the time to formulate exactly what I was going to say to her. Well, I had to state the facts to myself first. When the facts started getting jumbled in my own mind and I realized just how disgusting what Tanya and I were to each other, I stopped and just watched Bella, sitting there in my shirt with wet hair writing on her laptop like the amazing author she was. She was more than just an amazing author though. She was an incredible woman with untouchable brains and cunning wit. She was a great friend to everyone living in this house and she was so much so, that she was family to all of them. She was a klutz, but I loved that about her, and she was a –

"Are you going to say something or just stare off into space with that smile on your face?" Bella asked indifferently as she turned off her laptop.

"I—"

"No, you're not going to talk," she stopped me. "You are going to listen, and then tell me whatever it is you have to say." She sounded like the principal scolding the kid who was so obviously guilty of putting the graffiti all over the _girl's _bathroom stalls. I sat quietly like the good little boy I was and listened. "I have told you everything about my past you have ever asked about, and then things you haven't asked about. You know all about Jacob and there really wasn't anyone before him. I've told you about my growing up and my days in college and, well, just about everything that came to mind. I expected the same from you on all those fronts, but obviously that isn't the case."

"Bella, Tanya was just—"

"Not finished," she interrupted calmly. She was the type of calm that was almost too calm. I heard Emmett chuckle from outside the doorway. "Emmett, down stairs now or I'll cut off your balls and leave you to die on the latrine like Mr. Rowler," Bella hissed. (a/n: "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" reference…reading it in English right now) Emmett skittered away, afraid of the damage she would do to his boys.

"You couldn't have honestly told me about everyone," I said. "I mean, all you've ever told me about is Jacob."

"That's because there has never _been _anyone other than Jacob. You and Jacob, that's it."

I looked at the beautiful woman sitting before me, a spark in her eyes that very obviously meant she was not happy with me right now. I looked her up and down, and then went over her body once again with my eyes, wondering how I had only been the second person she'd ever been with. I was only the second guy she'd ever been with. I couldn't believe that was the truth, but I knew it was.

"I'm sorry, just let me—"

"I'm sure Tanya was one of your girlfriends and whatev—"

"I wasn't lying when I told you Tanya and I were only friends," I cut her off. "We were just friends; the only thing is we were there for each other in…other capacities as well." I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it.

"Don't try to make it sound better than it is. You were friends with benefits…fuck buddies, but don't play it down like you were just perfect little angels who were there for each other in good ways."

"Fine," I sighed, looking her in the eyes while I spoke. "Tanya and I were really, _really _good friends who in the end started screwing around with each other because it was the easiest way to get rid of the stress of school. 'No strings attached' was what we always claimed it was, and that's what it was for me. Not exactly the same for Tanya. Anyway, it ended when I left Chicago."

"Really…" she didn't sound too convinced.

"Bella, I broke it off with her, I swear. It meant nothing to me, especially not in the way that you mean to me," I told her honestly, reaching forward to take her hand. How is it that I can realize I'm in love with her not twelve hours before I have her upset with me.

"Okay…" she was looking in my eyes, reading deeply into them. I tried to convey to her that it was true. "Just answer me this. Who's better in bed, me or Tanya?" she asked, teasing me.

My jaw dropped. "That's it? I'm forgiven?"

"Depends on how you answer the question," she answered with a smirk.

"You are way better, love," I told her, kissing her thoroughly, not even stopping when I realized I'd just called her love. I hoped she hadn't noticed, because I didn't want any 'awkward turtles' if she didn't feel the same way.

She crawled toward me and sat in my lap, straddling me and pushing me onto my back. My hands moved to unbutton my shirt and when I'd finished, it fell open, revealing a very hot green lace bra and matching boy shorts.

"You're so beautiful," I whispered, sucking on her neck as I listened to her moan.

"I was going…for something more…along the lines of sexy," she sputtered out as I ground my hips into hers.

"Delicious is more like it," I said into her ear, my voice deeper than it was before.

My hands traveled up her back and just as they reached her bra, she stopped me, and got up. I growled and reached for her, but she was out of reach and on her way to the door. But this time she shut it and locked it and then returned to her previous place.

"No interruptions." Her lips went to my skin and she began sucking hard.

"You're gonna leave…a hickey there," I warned.

"Just marking what's mine," she purred. When I tried to go to remove my shirt from her shoulders again she stopped me. "Not right now," she said and moved to my shorts which she pulled down almost too easily.

"Bella…" She pulled my boxers from my body and left me without anything on. Her eyes were hungry as she stared at my very hard dick that stood before her like the Washington Monument (a/n: it looks nothing like the guy...it's more like a tribute to Bill Clinton). It grew harder under her gaze. "What are you…"

And then her hands grabbed me and my breath came in a hiss. Her lips returned to mine as her hands pumped me and I kissed back with fervor, her mouth catching every sound I made. Her lips left mine suddenly and she moved down my body. She bent her head down and licked the pearl of white that had formed on the head of my dick, humming in approval.

I watched through a cloud of lust and pleasure as she took me into her mouth, her lips enveloping as much of me as they could and her hands continuing to cover the rest. I groaned at the sudden wet warmth, thinking there was only one thing better than this. She looked up at me under her eyelashes, looking sexier than hell, and my hips bucked forward of their own accord, causing Bella to giggle. The vibrations sent sensations through me that I'd never known.

Her head bobbed up and down while she looked up at me from under her dark eyelashes. My head fell back and I moaned and whispered her name in ecstasy as every second she brought me closer to my end. I was getting pretty damn close when her hands released me and she deep throated my cock. I called out her name louder, so close that it was painful to not be there yet.

Then her mouth left me, only to be replaced seconds later by the one thing that was better than her mouth and at the moment, even wetter.

"Fuck Bella, give a guy some warning," I groaned out.

"Sorry, but I just had to finish this off right," she whispered into my ear in a voice dripping with sex, which kind of seemed pretty appropriate considering the circumstances.

She rocked on top of me and I thrust up into her, my hands on her hips to guide her. Her hands were on my shoulders, supporting herself as she moved above me. Her breasts spilled over her dark green bra as she rode me and the shirt she was wearing, my shirt, was driving me crazy. She was going to be wearing my clothes more often if I had anything to say about it. Her hair was falling in her face and I released one of her hips for a second to brush it behind her ear because I had to see her face.

Her eyes were closed as she focused on pleasing me and the beautiful determination and glorious smile on her face pushed me over the edge, taking her with me after I released into her. She cried out my name and collapsed on top of me, riding out her waves of pleasure.

"Now who's better? Me or Tanya?" she asked.

"Who's Tanya?"

She smirked and a few minutes later she got off of me. The loss of her was incredibly painful, even though she was just a few feet away as she walked toward the bathroom. "I need another shower," she muttered.

"I'm right behind you," I said as I scrambled to get up.

"I'm sure you are."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One very pleasant shower later, Bella and I were eating brunch in the kitchen. "This is delicious," I complimented her on her, as always, amazing cooking as I picked up my glass of orange juice and took a few sips.

"You're delicious," she muttered, causing me to spit my most recent sip of orange juice back into the glass.

"Thanks," I said with a chuckle as she blushed, realizing I'd heard her. I pulled my chair closer to hers and wrapped my arm around her waist, placing a small kiss on her red cheek. "You taste better," I whispered in her ear seductively, though I think we'd done plenty since last night. She sucked in a breath, suddenly becoming very interested in her meal.

We ate in silence for a moment before Bella interrupted it. "So, what are we going to be doing today? I mean, you never really answered my question."

I nodded, knowing I hadn't. "Well, I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my morning," I started, earning a nudge from Bella. "I'd like to go and get some new music if you wouldn't mind."

"That sounds great. There's a few CD stores around. What else?"

"I could read to you from one of my medical textbooks," I joked. She looked at me like I was crazy, thinking I was serious, before a laugh came from her mouth and she turned back to her meal. "Although I did used to just sit for hours and read, and then reread, passages from my textbook. That's why I need glasses now. Too much eyestrain."

I let there be silence again as I thought. "Maybe I'll play the piano for you a bit and then we could play a card game or something."

"That's really how you spent your time in Chicago?" she asked incredulously.

I smiled sheepishly. "I wasn't much for a party unless my friends dragged me there."

She laughed. "Who would have thought I'd have had a greater social life than you?" she mused and I just sucked softly on the side of her neck to distract her so I could steal some of her hash brown. "Hmmmm. That feels _really _good, but that doesn't mean you can have my hash brown Edward." She slapped my hand away from her plate playfully. "Nice try."

"Damn," I said against her skin as I moved my hand elsewhere.

"Edward…"

"It's not your hash brown, sweetheart," I said as I picked her up from her chair and pulled her onto my lap. She moved to straddle me because that probably a little more comfortable with how little room there was between me and the edge of the counter and now she was shoved into the small bit of space. I smirked at her. "This seems vaguely familiar."

"Does it?" she asked as her lips brushed mine and my eyes slid closed in the pleasure of the feeling. Then there was something very warm against my mouth with a texture that wasn't like that of Bella's soft lips. "Open," she ordered, and I did as I was asked. She put whatever it was in my mouth and I grinned.

"Thank you," I said as I chewed the piece of hash brown she'd given me.

"My pleasure," she answered, kissing me again even though I had a mouth full of food.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What kind of music do you like best?" Bella asked me as we entered the small CD shop hand in hand.

"Classical above all else," I told her as I looked at the signs above each section of the small store.

"Second favorite?" she asked.

"Jazz. It's a lot of fun, especially to play on the piano." It was always fun, the way that it was all your artistic ability and you could make it up as you went along. Plus, the rhythms were just so much fun. I saw Bella smiling out of the corner of my eye, but it wasn't just an "oh that's cool" smile, it was an "I've got an idea" smile. I was about to ask her about it when a woman about our age popped out in front of me from nowhere in particular.

"Hey, I'm Candy, can I _help _you?" she asked and I saw Bella laugh silently beside me.

Candy. Stripper's/Hooker's name. Yup, that was funny. (a/n: no offense to any of you readers out there with the name Candy…it's a lovely name…for a stripper…oops, did I just say that? Sorry! Don't hurt me!...I'm gonna run screaming now…wait, never mind, I have to finish typing this chapter.)

"No, I'm quite fine. My girlfriend and I were just looking for some music," I answered, pulling Bella in front of me like a shield. I could feel Bella shaking more as she laughed harder, still remaining silent as she glared at _Candy _who had just finally noticed her.

"Oh…Well if you're having trouble, just give me a call," she said as she handed me a card and I realized she wasn't talking about having trouble with finding CDs and that she wasn't an employee at this store. I deposited the card in my pocket and winked at her as she left.

Bella looked at me with a 'what the hell' expression. "What? I'm going to give it to Emmett tonight so we can prank call her. We used to do it all the time," I defended.

Realization came over Bella's expression and she was once again laughing silently in my arms. "Those are always the best, I swear, Rose was furious the first time she saw Em take a girl's number home with him. He had a nice shiner for a while."

I was shocked. "Rose gave Em a black eye?"

"I can't believe you're surprised." I thought about for a second and I easily understood how easily that could happen, especially since Emmett would never fight back.

I nodded and just led Bella over to the easy listening section, knowing that I had all the classical I needed at the moment, but didn't find anything particularly interesting so I took Bella over to the Jazz section.

"What about this one?" Bella asked, picking up a CD. I looked at it. _The Best Of Diana Krall._

I shook my head. "No, love," I said, and hoping she didn't notice my second slip up of the day continued to tell her, "I've already got that." (a/n: I know Diana Krall. She's a bitch as far as promoting her career but her music is fantastic.)

Bella continued to look when suddenly she grabbed one off the shelf. "Whoa! No way!" I looked at the CD she was looking at this time and chuckled.

"You didn't know Queen Latifah was a jazz singer now?" I asked teasingly. Not many did know that. (a/n: my dad runs the label she's on. Would you believe she's super down to Earth?)

"No."

"She does a great remake of _I'm Gonna Live Till I Die_," I said. Bella just looked over the CD in fascination. "I have it in my CD collection at the house."

She looked up at me suddenly. "Have you ever noticed that you always call our home 'the house'. You've yet to call it 'home'."

I smiled at her as I pulled her into my arms and she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me back. "That's because I'm only home when I'm with you."

"You're so sweet," she said as she kissed the side of my neck and leaned further into my hold as Queen Latifah's _Trav'lin' Light _came on overhead. I held her close to me for a little while thinking, _yes, I'm home. This is my home, right here in your arms, as it is for you in mine, and that's where we both belong, forever. _But then I couldn't help wonder if she felt the same way.

We went _home _a little while later with a Herbie Hancock CD and a Melody Gardot CD, choosing to stick with some jazz.

Once in the house, I led Bella over to the piano where I sat down and had her take a seat on the couch. I went to the box of piano music I had in bedroom and took out a few different jazz pieces, as I was in that sort of mood. I started with a few of Herbie Hancock's Gershwin remakes, all of which Bella seemed to enjoy, before moving on to some Ray Charles.

After a little while, I decided to close up my books and turned to Bella who was looking so engrossed in the music.

"Are you done?" she asked, sounding disappointed.

"Not quite," I answered with a smile. I patted the bench beside me and asked her to sit next to me. She did so and I squeezed her thigh before beginning into a new jazz piece.

"That's beautiful," Bella commented.

"I was seventeen when I wrote it. Growing up I did a lot of composition and competition. You'd be surprised the money there is in it. Sixteen thousand sometimes for a win. Anyway, I used this piece and won the grand prize of a two year scholarship to the school of my choice. I competed in the same competition the next year and won again, getting a free ride through my years in college, however I only went to college for three years."

I loved the way her forehead wrinkled when she was confused. "Only three years?"

"Spent my summers taking classes, which allowed me to finish college in three years, not to mention the fact that I overdid my class loads a little bit to get all my credits in." I grinned at her. "I wanted to be successful young, but I just couldn't do that with medical school, so I decided being a year ahead of the curve was better than nothing."

"Anyway, I'd earned a pretty nice savings account with the years of competitions and my father flat out refused to let me pay my way through school, so I still compose and enter into a competition every now and then because it truly is good money," I finished and looked to see her watching my hands intently as they moved along the keys. "Is this really that impressive?" I asked her, once again teasing her as I had been constantly doing throughout the day.

"Yes," she answered quickly.

I leaned over and placed my lips so they brushed along the outer shell of her ear. "I can do some pretty impressive with these hands," I whispered, causing her to shiver as she understood what I meant.

"Don't I know it…" she muttered.

- - -

Bella definitely chose a game to test my hands. We were playing Spit, which required speedy hands, quick thought, and good eyes. I had two and a half of those. My eyes were okay, but they usually took a second to adjust. On the other hand, they were cards, not text, not too difficult to read quickly. Still, Bella was managing to kick my ass every round we played and soon enough she had no cards.

"I win!" she called out for the third time in the past hour and I laughed at her enthusiasm as I pushed the cards aside and attacked her, tickling her sides. She laughed and writhed uncontrollably underneath me on the ground. "Edward! Ed- Ed- Ward!"

"Yes Bella?" I asked her as I stilled her moving legs by sitting on top of them and then leaned my weight onto her to keep the rest of her still while I tickled her sides.

"St-Stop!"

"What's the magic word?" I asked sweetly.

"N-No more Bl-blowjobs!" she all but screamed through her laughter and I stopped, not because I cared about the blowjobs, no matter how great the one she'd given me this morning was, but because I heard Rose, Alice, Jasper, and Emmett cracking up hysterically in the doorway.

Bella was bright red on the floor, partly from the tickling, partly from the embarrassment. She tried to hide her face in my shoulder. I chuckled and kissed her temple. "Sorry, sweetheart, my fault," and then got up, taking her with me.

"Go Bella!" Alice and Rose exclaimed, turning to each other and high fiving.

"God…of all…the things I…didn't…want to kn- know…about my…bro…ther," Emmett got out between gasps as he was doubled over, holding onto Jasper for support.

Jasper was no better off as he squeaked out, "Or…my cousin."

"Aren't we all chipper," I commented as I sat down on the couch, holding Bella in my arms and sitting her on my lap once I was situated.

"Emmett's got an announcement," Alice announced to Bella and myself.

"Did you need to announce the fact that there was something Emmett was going to announce to us?" Bella asked, the words muffled as she spoke into my shoulder.

"How many times do you think we can say 'announce' in one conversation?" Emmett asked, suddenly serious.

I laughed. "Just _announce_ whatever the hell you want to _announce _to us you big lug."

"Right right. Drum roll please," Emmett began. Alice tapped her little hands on the wall, Rose did the same on the arm of the couch, Jasper did so to the floor, and Bella did so softly on my chest, which only made me laugh again as I kissed her forehead. "I signed for a gym today and got it all paid for and everything."

Bella jumped out of my lap and hugged my brother while I stood up and shook his hand. "Congrats."

"It's perfect too," he said and his eyes got all glassy. I returned to my seat and grabbed Bella's waist, pulling her back into my lap.

"You two are disgustingly cute," Rose muttered.

"You and Emmett are disgustingly sexual," Bella shot back, causing us all to laugh and Rose to go over to Emmett, stand in front of him, and pull his hips forward to meet hers, effectively snapping him out of his one dream and throwing his into another fantasy. She turned and winked to Bella, causing her to giggle. The sound was musical and I felt myself going into my own dreamlike state.

"Oh, he's got it bad," my hyper-sensitive ears, thanks to the training they've been through in my years of piano, heard Jasper mutter to Alice and I just looked at the two of them and winked before placing a kiss on the back of Bella's neck.

"Hey Em," Bella called out.

"Huh?" he asked, blinking as he realized he and Rose weren't doing whatever he was imagining (and whatever he was imagining, I didn't want to know).

"We've a prank call for you to make." She turned in my lap and reached into my front pocket to pull out the card from Candy, brushing against my crotch as she removed her hand from my pocket and then sitting right on top of my crotch, rubbing her very nice ass into me as she got settled. Emmett came over and took the card from her before pulling out his cell phone and laying it on the coffee table.

"You're evil," I whispered into Bella's ear. She didn't respond, only wiggled around a bit more. I kissed down her neck to her exposed shoulder, biting down softly where the two body parts met. She jumped a bit, which really caused me more trouble than it did her. I wrapped my arms around her waist tightly, hoping to hold her still as I moved her hair aside and sucked on the back of her neck the way she'd sucked on my skin this morning.

She moaned quietly, but all heads shot towards us and I chuckled against her skin.

"Eddie, quit sucking on your girlfriend and tell me this bitch's name," Emmett shot at me at just smirked against Bella's neck.

"Candy," I answered and licked the skin where there was already a nice dark mark.

"How much does she charge?" Alice and Rose asked at the same time.

"For a Cullen? She'll do any of us for free," Emmett answered.

"Ass," Rose muttered, and by the glint in her eye that I caught in her eye from over Bella's shoulder, I assumed she'd make Emmett pay for his comments later.

"Where'd you meet?" Jasper asked.

"Tell her you're the guy from the music store with the brunette girlfriend who you just dumped because you're craving some Candy," Bella told Emmett.

"Good one, Squirt," Emmett replied as he dialed in the number.

"_Candy here, what's your request?"_

I had to hold in a laugh.

"Hey Candy," Emmett said cheerfully as he imitated my voice to a T, which bothered me a bit. "It's me, the guy from the CD store today with that brunette girlfriend."

"_What's wrong? She not puttin' out, sugar?" _

"She's never put out, _sugar_. So, I dumped her."

"_Oooo, I'm likin' where you're takin' this."_

"Well, I was _cravin' some Candy_, and I thought I'd take you to the candy shop and let you lick the lollipop," Emmett said into his phone.

I bit into Bella's shoulder again, but this time to keep from laughing. Bella jumped again in surprise and I stifled my groan in her shoulder.

"_You can take my anywhere."_

"Yeah, I wouldn't even take you to McDonald's," Emmett said in a bored tone and hit End, allowing us all to break out into laughter.

"Just like old times," I whispered.

"Just wait until you hear us call into QVC," I heard Jasper say.

Emmett turned on the TV and turned it to QVC where they were selling ice cream makers. He quickly dialed the number and when they answered, he said, "Hi, that ice cream maker? Well, I see it comes in red, green, yellow, orange, and blue, but I was wondering, does it come in purple polka dots?...No?...You sure?...Because I really like purple polka dots…I'll pay five bucks extra…What about black polka dots?...Hmmm…Rainbow?...Well, fine." He hung up the phone and we all broke out into laughter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bella snuggled into my side as we lay in my bed, both of us in actual pajamas this time, though mine were only boxer shorts and hers were a very skimpy silk tank and boyfriend shorts.

"I had fun today," I whispered. She turned her head and kissed my lips, the mint of her toothpaste filling my cinnamon flavored mouth. The tastes somehow combined perfected.

"Good," she answered when she pulled away and I could just see the outline of her features in the dark of the room. She laid her head on my chest and rubbed over the spot on my bare chest where a bit of the outside light made one of the hickeys Bella had given me this morning just barely visible.

I looked down and watched her fingering tracing a circle around it, smiling. "I had fun this morning too."

She smacked my chest playfully and closed her eyes gently. "Good night," she whispered, her breath caressing over my skin.

"Good night," I whispered back, glad to be able to just go to sleep with her in my arms.

There was no doubt in my mind that I truly loved this woman.


	17. The Real Chapter Seventeen

**a/n: ha ha yay! I had a snow day yesterday so i started doing some intense work on this chapter. It's short, I know, but I'm going to try to do some more updates with it being the holiday break and what not. Anyway, maybe you'll understand why my brain wasn't functioning perfectly to get you a long chapter if i explain my week just a bit.**

**1) I finished writing Dreaming Under The Same Moon, the final installment of my A Never Ending Romance (post-eclipse) series. It was a lot of work, but now it's done and out of the way.**

**2) We lost electricity in my house earlier when I had been typing everything up for this next chapter and i took that as a sign to rewrite it all when document recovery didn't save my chapter.**

**3) I accidentally posted one of the final chapters for DUTSM on For Always and I had to type my explanation about a hundred times, lol, because apparently, very few of you were happy when you realized the chapter wasn't accessible.**

**4) I had a snow day yesterday.**

**5) I had to spend this morning shoveling all the snow from yesterday's storm. My body was all numb and it didn't feel very right, you know?**

**6) I can finally start another AH.**

**7) I deleted two stories (A Love Game and How Jacob Met Jocelyn) because I just couldn't do much of the vampire thing anymore.**

**8) I'm putting Nothing to Live For on hold for a little while because I just can't figure out what else to include.**

**9) I've had _the _most boring week of school EVER!**

**10) I started working on my next AH: _Child Of A Star_ and I think all of you will really like it. The updates and chapters are going to be shorter, but it'll make it easier to write and it'll probably be a lot shorter than this story is so it'll be finished sooner. If you want me to post it today, just let me know in your reviews and i'll put it up...9 chapters finished already...i told you, it's an easy write, really.**

**11) Hmmm...What else to include... Oh! Lots and Lots and Lots of presents under the pretty christmas tree!!! Yay!!!**

**So, Dedication time...Who does this chappy go to, you ask? Well... duh duh duh duh! _Girlz-Rule_ with _12 Reviews! _**Congrats, enjoy your chapter :) Pics are on my profile if you wanna see them!

Love you, Jordi Brooke...

**BELLA'S POV**

"Alice! I'm going to kill you!" I shouted through the door as I finally realized there was no way of getting out of the bathroom. I could hear Alice and Rose laughing on the other side of the door as they used their body weight and strength to keep me shut inside. There was a suit lying on the counter, just as Alice had said there'd be, and I was in nothing but a towel. She'd taken my clothes and left me no choice. Sure I could go out of the bathroom in my towel, but we all knew that wouldn't end with me in a different bathing suit.

I looked at the bathing suit I was expected to put on. "No way in hell are you getting me into this!" I shouted in protest. I picked up the barely existent suit between my thumb and index finger while I held up my towel. I was all dried from my shower, my hair towel dried and hanging wetly against my shoulders. My hair probably covered more of me than this suit would.

"Of course I'm going to get you to wear it. I'm Alice!" she replied perkily through the door.

_She's got a point there_, I admitted to myself.

"What do I get in return for wearing this?" I asked, knowing I had better ask for something before she came in and dressed me in it herself.

"A nooner on the beach with Edward," she answered. I stuck my tongue out at her, but the door blocked her vision of my childish action. "Put your tongue back in your mouth." I just shook my head. She was Alice, and those three words explained everything in our world.

Looking at the skimpy pieces of cloth, I sighed. Yup. That would get his attention in a heart beat. "Fine. I will wear this pathetic excuse for a bathing suit!" I dropped the towel and looked at myself in the mirror.

_Why does he even want me? _I asked myself.

"Stop wondering why Edward wants you and get your ass into that itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini!" she sang and I could here Rose laughing her ass off, banging her head back against the white wood door.

"First of all, this bathing suit is hardly any bigger than a polka dot," I started to respond before I noticed the microscopic black dots that were on the white sections of the suit. The polka dots matched the black lace very nicely. Who puts lace on a bathing suit? "Second, it's not yellow. Third, I don't think it could even pass for a bikini. And fourth, how did you know that's what I was thinking?"

"I'm Alice. I just know." It was always so matter of fact. But of course, it was the true fact that this world seemed to revolve around, at least it did if you were her.

"Damn super pixie feeling prediction thingies," I muttered as I slipped on the itsy bitsy bottoms and tied on the teeny weeny top.

I looked in the mirror. It covered maybe two percent of my body, but I'd deal with that because I didn't look half bad…and I wanted to see Edward's reaction. "This could be fun," I said as I turned the door knob and pushed, surprised that there was no resistance as it swung open. Something was thrown over top of my head out of nowhere. "Shit, I'm blind." Sarcasm was heavy in my voice.

"Just put it on," Rose said feigning exasperation.

I laughed and slipped on the dress. It was beautiful. Light blue, flowing, and went down to midthigh, where the black lace then took it to the knees. It was a halter and the chest was covered in black lace over the aqua blue material of the dress. The back dropped all the way down to just above my butt, revealing the back tie of my suit.

"Lovely," I commented.

Alice was bouncing up and down excitedly. "You look perfect Bella!" I smiled. My hair was air drying and it'd be dry soon. I wasn't required to wear make up today because we were going to the beach and why would they waist time prettying up my hair for it to be ruined in the water? I was handed a pair of black thong flip flops and I put them on happily. Today was looking good thus far.

Alice was putting on her own bathing suit as was Rose. I didn't understand why they felt the need to do so in my room, however. "Because we want to surprise the boys," Alice answered my unasked question.

"What are you, a mind reader?" I asked sarcastically as I fell onto my bed.

Alice had on a coral pink bikini with black lace like that on my dress and black lace straps. The bottoms had black lace on the top and the rest was coral pink. It looked terrific. She put a matching colored short jumper with lace trim on the neckline and around the waist. She buttoned it up and smiled as she shook out her still wet hair. She'd barged into my room earlier in nothing but a robe. Certainly had me freaked.

Rose wore a cut out one piece that was basically a brown bikini with an embroidery and corset style bodice (looked a lot like the lace that was on mine and Alice's suits and cover ups) with low rise bottoms. I think Rose and I were covered to about the same level. _About_. The dress she put on was gray with…can you guess?...black lace and went to just above midthigh. The neckline was low and revealed the top of the bathing suit so you assumed she was wearing a bikini. Just wait until Emmett saw what was underneath.

In fact, just wait until all of our men saw what we hid underneath.

**EDWARD'S POV**

Nike swim trunks, t-shirt, flip flops, baseball cap, beach towel, sunglasses. I was pretty sure I had everything. Emmett and Jasper had all the same things. Yup, I was ready. It was the Fourth of July and we were going to First Beach again. It would be exciting to watch the fireworks exploding over the water. In Chicago, we used to watch them in the park. After I went to college I spent my summers at school and didn't care much to go to the parties.

Emmett said there would be a number of other people there today and that apparently they brought out food and grills and had one big barbeque. Then he explained that was why we were bringing a bunch of food with us that wasn't cooked yet. "Can't ever go wrong with burgers and dogs at a barbeque," he reasoned.

He'd never been to one of these, but the girls had gone every year since starting college in Seattle, having heard about it from Jacob who had known a few people around there. Those people may have moved away now, but they weren't too involved in it anyway. They were actually complaining about the ruckus, as Bella had said.

The girls came down and I watched my beautiful Bella as she sauntered down the steps. Her dress was beautiful and her hair was leaving droplets of water on her shoulders. She had a small beach bag with a towel sticking out of the back and wore large black sunglasses, as did Alice and Rosalie.

"Hey you," I said as she met me in the hallway.

"Hey," she replied with a smirk in place.

I grinned at her crookedly, wishing she wasn't wearing sunglasses to block her beautiful eyes from my view.

I loved her eyes.

I loved her.

And I was going to tell her that tonight during the fireworks, as I'd decided last night.

We all went out and piled into Emmett's Jeep for the short ride from Forks to First Beach. Alice sat on Jasper's lap on the way there, and I wished I'd thought of that and had Bella sit on mine because there weren't quite enough seats for us all. We managed to get all six beach chairs in the back of the car, along with the cooler, the beach bags, and all the towels. It was a miracle. The car was like a black hole or something.

It was a beautiful sunny day today and I reveled in the feel of the sun on my skin, though it was nothing compared to the feel of Bella. That statement sounded dirty as I thought it, but I amended it to 'it was nothing like the feel of Bella's touch' which only sounded a little better, but not enough.

We set up the chairs in a half circle, and the girls laid out all the towels in the middle of our chair horse shoe. Emmett, Jasper, and I kicked off our flip flops and threw off our shirts, tossing them underneath a chair each.

We watched as the girls stood in the middle of the horse shoe we'd set up and removed their clothing as well to reveal their suits. Bella untied the halter of her light blue dress and it slid down her body in one fluid movement, pooling at her feet. My eyes followed the dress on its drop and then slowly slid up her long bare legs to the rest of her body. My eyes bugged out so far at the sight that I thought they were about ready to fall out of my head.

_B-b-b-black l-l-l-la-lay-lace… Whi-whi-white ba-ba-ba-biki-kini… sk-sk-skin… shit, _my mind stuttered.

_What the hell are you? Retarded? Quit stuttering in your mind!_

_Have you seen this?_

_Seen what?_

_Bella and her…bikini…_

_No._

_Well look._

_Holy fuck. B-b-b-black l-l-l-la-lay-lace…_

_You're an idiot._

_An idiot with one hell of a fine lady for a girl friend._

_Damn fine._

I shook my head as if to expel the voice that were having a conversation inside my brain, walking forward to the beautiful woman before me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her breasts pressed against my chest, but her shoulders and head pulled back so she could look up at me. I looked down to where our chests met and groaned at the sight.

I was already hard and the day had hardly even started, and with Bella pressed against me, I knew she could feel what I was feeling.

"Like what you see?" she teased.

"You'll be the death of me," I whispered as I leaned my face down to take her lips on a ride with mine. She laughed and pulled back before I could deepen it. I was debating whether that was for the better or not.

She detached herself from me and turned to the girls who had just started putting sunscreen on themselves. Bella got most of her body herself and just as I was about to offer to get her back, Alice got that for her. I sighed and sprayed some sports sunscreen on myself because that was a lot easier and faster and then walked over to my perfect girlfriend who was now putting her hair up into a pony tail.

"What are we going to be doing?" I asked the whole group as I sat in my chair with Bella sitting at my feet on the towel. She laid head back in my lap and I put my hands on her shoulders, desperate to have just one simple touch or another.

"Don't know," Alice said. "What should we do?"

"I know!" Rose exclaimed, as she pulled out her iPod and the speakers we'd brought. Batteries did wonders at the beach. "Belly dancing contest!"

_She was trying to kill me. Bella…belly dancing…_

"Okay," Jasper muttered weakly.

Emmett rubbed his hands together, grinning as he lounged back in his beach chair. "I'm down for judging your belly dancing contest, girls."

The three looked at each other and laughed and Jasper winced, apparently knowing something Emmett and I didn't as he stood up.

"Don't be stupid Emmett," Alice said as she scrolled through songs on the iPod.

"We'll be the judges, you boys are the contestants," Bella explained. I looked down at her face and she was looking right back at me with a wicked grin. "Let's see those moves."

"Can I pass on this?" I squeaked hopefully.

Emmett looked like he was hoping on backing out too. Rose walked over to him and whispered something in his ear while Bella turned and knelt on her knees to face me. She had one hand on my knee as she leaned forward so her lips were at my ear. The index finger of her free hand slid down my chest slowly and her tantalizing voice filtered through my ears. "Come on, baby. Do it for me?" Her voice was unintentionally – or maybe it was intentionally – seductive as she asked. "There's always a prize for the winner."

She pulled back so her face was just a centimeter from mine as her finger continued to drag down to my abs, meeting my lower stomach muscles. They twitched under her enticing touch and her finger ran along the top of my trunks, dipping just below the waist band before she withdrew it completely from my skin. Her lips brushed mine for a brief moment and then she was gone, helping the girls choose a song.

A legitimate Middle Eastern song came on and I sighed, resigning myself to the fact I'd be in a belly dancing contest. The things Bella can get me to do.

I tried my best, Emmett made a fool out of himself – the belly dancing didn't help with that – and Jasper was doing damn well. In the end, Jasper won. "They get a couple of guys to do this every year," he said. "I won last year too."

I laughed as _Gasolina _came on. "You'll enjoy this," Jasper muttered to Emmett and I as we all sat down on the towels, leaning against the chairs.

"Alice will give you your _prize _later Jasper." Rose smirked at us and winked at Emmett. "But we've got a little something for you three for participating in our little contest."

They started dancing and it looked basically like they'd choreographed it. My eyes were glued to Bella as she moved, her body bending around her hips moving side to side with the beat. I smirked, knowing her body could move in other ways too.

Each girl walked toward their respective guy and Bella dropped into my lap, straddling my waist as the music played. "Hey handsome," she whispered as she ground her hips into the erection that had restarted after I finished 'belly dancing' and started watching her dance.

"Hey sexy," I responded as my hands rested on her hips, trying to still her before I pulled her out into the ocean with me to get help for the problem she started.

"What's wrong?" she asked, feigning innocence as she moved my hands to her ass.

I moved them up to her back, afraid to make things too hard – or difficult – for me.

"Nothing's wrong, sweetheart," I responded. She rotated her hips once and then leaned forward to put her lips on my neck. I moaned as she sucked at the skin.

"Then relax and enjoy, baby." She went back to sucking on the skin and I closed my eyes, barely holding back a moan as she once again rotated her hips on my groin. She continued to do this, now keeping the rotating constant, until the song finished. God, I hope she didn't do this for any other men in the past years. She kissed the newly formed hickey and smiled at me before turning to the rest of the group. "Who's up for a swim?" She stood up off of me and ran ungracefully through the sand, diving into the water.

"Did she just dive into shallow water?" I asked incredulously as her head appeared some twenty or thirty feet from the shore.

"We've been doing this for years, we know how to dive into the ocean," Alice said with a shrug before she and Rose went in after them. (a/n: That is possible. I do it when I go to New Hampshire. I don't suggest it though. You can really hurt yourself if you don't go horizontal quickly enough.)

I looked to the guys who seemed to be in about the same condition I was in at the moment before all three of us looked out to the water and stood painfully, moving to the water as quickly as we could.

We swam out to the girls as they floated with the waves that hit the shore. Bella smiled at me and I glared playfully as I swam quickly, the cool water doing a wonder or two for me. "What took you so long?" she asked me.

"Oh, like you don't know," I answered as I picked her up bridal style and dunked her head back under the water. She game back up sputtering.

"Uncalled for," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I smirked before letting her drop back into the water, catching her by surprise again as she stood up, coughing. "Oops." She glared at me before I saw her smile and two bodies jumped on me, effectively dunking me under water without any notice whatsoever. I came up the same as Bella did and turned to see Rose and Alice pointing and laughing at me as Emmett and Jasper under the water, coming up behind them for their own surprise attacks.

Guess who got surprised.

Rose and Alice must have known, probably because Bella may have given them fair warning from behind me, and the jumped at the last second and Jasper and Emmett got me, pulling me under.

Just as all three of us came up, our significant others dunked us back under and we three were gasping for air as we broke the surface of the water.

"I surrender!" I cried out, not thinking I could take being dunked for a fourth time. Jasper and Emmett weren't so smart and went for their women in revenge, but ended up with mouth fulls of water as they got pushed under when they lunged. Alice and Rose were quick. I got dunked again and turned to see Bella smirking at me from behind.

I grabbed her into my arms and she held her breath, expecting me to dunk her, but instead I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her senseless. Her hands were on my chest as she kissed me back and my tongue slid into her mouth which now had a bit of a salty taste to it in addition to her normal flavor. My hands massaged her lower back where they rested and then traveled down to squeeze her ass. Just as I did this, I pulled her down into the water, dunking her dazed body into the water.

She came up and glared at me. "Hey! I got dunked four times. Consider yourself lucky," I defended. She laughed and placed a quick peck on my lips before putting her back against my chest and wrapping my arms around her waist.

"So, what are we doing?" she asked, addressing everyone else around us.

Emmett smiled, lunging at Jasper. "Tag, you're it!" Emmett swam off and Jasper took a moment, just like the rest of us, to realize what was going on. He lunged towards Bella who dropped bellow the water just before Jasper got to her, and instead I was tagged.

I looked around for Bella, but she wasn't anywhere in sight, so instead, I went after Alice. She was so tiny, one would only assume she'd be easy to tag. But no, she had to be the fastest of them all. Damn elusive pixie.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

People were gathering around on the beach now that it was a little after two and there were grills and tables set up in the lot. Emmett and Jasper had long since carried the food we brought out and others thanked us. We ate our lunch and then laid out in the sun, drying off and letting the food settle in our stomachs.

"Hmmm…A lot has changed since the last time we were here," Rose spoke suddenly, disturbing the silence in our small circle. Still, it was true.

"A lot has," I agreed.

"A new engagement," Emmett pointed out.

"A new couple," Alice teased Bella and I.

"A different family of friends," Jasper said. And we all had to agree with that, though for me, it was the first time in a long time that I'd had people so close to me who I wasn't even related to, despite the fact that two of the five I actually was.

_New love, changed love, stronger love, _I added on in my mind, but couldn't say it aloud because I wanted the moment I told Bella to be perfect.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The day passed quickly and I watched Bella non-stop, taking every chance I was given to hold her hand or kiss her cheek. Every time she looked at me, she couldn't help but laugh, seeing the purple hickey she'd left on my skin. Emmett felt the need to comment about it, and I just smirked back at him, seeing the three bite marks where Rose had actually managed to draw a little bit of blood. Couldn't wait until he noticed those.

"Where's your snappy comeback, Eddie?" he asked me.

"I'm trying to _bite _back my remarks, Lucy," I answered and I could see him reach up to his neck.

"Are they beauties or what?" His smile told me he was unaffected. That wasn't quite as fun as I'd been hoping.

The day faded away quickly and we enjoyed the holiday together, dancing around to music and talking about everything and anything, joking around about this and that, telling stories, swimming, and playing games. The hours seemed to fly by and soon enough the sun had set and the fireworks were all set up and ready to be set off.

Bella had put her beautiful blue sundress back on, for which I was grateful, thinking that maybe it would make telling her the truth, would make getting the sentence out coherently, the slightest bit easier.

We took one of our towels and walked along the water until we got to the side of the small beach. There were trees at the edge and I laid out the towel on the ground and took a seat, leaning against the trunk of a tree. Bella sat between my legs, laying her back on my chest, exhausted.

"Hey," I whispered into her ear, my voice gentle.

"Today was great," she said. Her voice sounded exhausted and I could feel her body sagging against mine.

I chuckled. "You're going to sleep once we get home."

"Only because you didn't win the belly dancing contest," she muttered, giggling at my incompetence.

"I suppose, but what fun would it be if you were practically knocked out anyway?"

"Not much," she answered, yawning. I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her body as close to mine as I could because the evening air was cooling down.

The first of the fireworks exploded in the sky, causing Bella to jump in surprise. I laughed and she smacked my arm playfully. "Don't make fun of the tired."

"Sorry, love," I apologized, but the second word escaped her notice as another firework blew up.

"They're so beautiful," she said to me as another boom rocked the beach.

I watched the glorious lights against the clear sky. Green, red, blue, yellow, pink, white. The colors illuminated the dark sky before they disappeared, only to replaced by the bright lights of another. "They can't even compare to your beauty, Bella."

She turned to look up at me, her expression indecipherable. I wanted to know what she was thinking, what she was feeling, but couldn't figure it out before my articulation left me, her lips pressing lightly on mine in a way we hadn't yet experienced.

You could feel the need and the desperation, the passion, the feeling, and yet it was in the lightest of touches, feathers against my skin that left a tingling sensation when her lips disappeared. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," I replied in a daze as I processed what I'd just felt. My eyes were closed lightly and I couldn't quite bring myself to open them, to look up and watch the fireworks again. There were enough fireworks exploded behind my eyelids as I saw the sparks that I'd always felt when Bella's skin had made any type of contact with my own.

"Edward, what are you thinking?" Bella asked quietly as she played with the fingers that were lain across her abdomen.

"I'm thinking that this is so perfect, right here, right now. I'm thinking I don't want this to end," I told her honestly, because there wasn't a second that passed when that wasn't one of the many thoughts in my mind.

"It is perfect, almost too perfect."

I opened my eyes to look at her. "What's wrong?" She had this look in her eyes, something that made me want to reach out to her so desperately.

"I…I just…I'm afraid that any second now, something will happen, something that will separate you and me."

I tried to smile reassuringly at her, but it was upsetting she'd think I'd ever last a moment without her. "Bella, I'm not leaving, not now, not ever."

"I don't know that. You don't know that. Who's to say you'll even have a choice?"

"There's always a choice."

"But—"

"No buts, love, I promise, I'll always be here." The blasted fireworks kept exploding every time I called her love.

"Forever?" she asked with such a strong hope burning in her eyes that I could feel my own hope growing that she'd return my feelings.

"For always," I answered.

She kissed me again, the way she had before, with no urgency, no lust or desire, just passion and emotion, need and desperation to feel the same things in this kiss that you're giving in to it. That light touch of lips between two who were undeniably meant for each other. I knew it was true for me, but I still didn't know for Bella. I had to tell her.

I pulled away slowly from the kiss, looking into her beautiful brown eyes as they fluttered open. I could see a tear falling down her cheek as she smiled softly at me.

"Bella I…I…I can't lose you," I told her, chickening out as the fireworks began their grand finale before stopping completely. I tried to get her attention as she watched them boom, the sky filling up with all sorts of different colors before they faded and more appeared, never a moment without five or six different explosions illuminating the night.

But she couldn't hear me over the noise and I finally gave up, cursing myself for missing my chance. I had the perfect opportunity, and I'd lost it. How could I not say the three simple words?

I couldn't say them because they weren't simple. They were complex and life changing and I struggled to get them out despite the fact that a life with her was all I wanted now.

"I love you," I whispered, knowing she'd hardly be able to hear me over the explosions even if I were yelling, let alone whispering.

**BELLA'S POV**

Edward said he couldn't lose me, but I could have sworn he'd wanted to say something else. Maybe it'd just been my desperate need for him to feel for me the way I felt for him that made me think that, but I didn't know. I wanted to tell him. I wanted to say the words that would mean everything to me, and, hopefully, just as much to him. I wanted him to say them in return, not because he felt he had to, but because he felt them too.

It never escaped my notice when he called me Love, but that didn't mean he really loved me. It could just be a term of endearment. There wasn't necessarily more to it than that, wasn't there? I wanted there to be, so desperately I wanted that, but I doubted there could be.

_Why had I gone and taken this chance? Why did I risk getting my heart broken again? _I wondered silently as the fireworks blew up at a quick pace. But I knew the answer. Because I felt that spark, that tingle, that electric shock that zoomed through my veins and sped up my heart. Because his smile made my heart skip a beat and his laugh made the dormant butterflies in my stomach awaken. His eyes were windows and I was staring in on a world unknown. I wanted to be in that unknown world, and everyday he was allowing me further into that mystery, deeper, step by step, a little closer to knowing him.

But I couldn't bring myself to tell him, because I was afraid of losing him. I didn't care if I never told him, if he never reciprocated the feeling, as long as I had him there. I couldn't lose him, just like he can't lose me. And for now, that was more than enough.

I settled happily back into his arms as the final fireworks, the biggest of them all, appeared in the sky and faded to black.

**And they all lived happily ever after, the end...wait, that's only the end of the chapter! ha ha... there's more to come soon.**

**a/n: so, like i said, i had a little bit of trouble making this long. I never go to the beach, maybe once a year when i'm down in Florida I'll go to Hollywood beach, but otherwise I don't and so I really don't know what you'd do at the beach if you weren't a five year old. All my mom does is tan and read, and well, I really haven't been allowed to wander around Hollywood beach by myself... So, I just, tried to write what i could and had fun putting in a random thing here or there, including the belly dancing contest thing because my older cousin told me about the time his girlfriend made him compete in a belly dancing contest with her friends' boyfriends. Anyway...thanks for reading and REVIEW PLEASE so that you can have your name on one of my chapters!**


	18. Akward Turtle

**_a/n: So here's a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday gift for all of you!!! Early update! Yay!! Anyway, I'm in a really good mood because of the holiday. We opened our presents Christmas Eve, and my little sister got me the TWILIGHT SOUNDTRACK!!! That, and I also got this really sweet digital video camera with a freakin' touch screen and a digital camera to take stills. It was all really great and we had the best time sitting by the fire and opening all of our presents. I hope all of your holidays are going well and that, if they aren't, this will make them better._**

_**Today's dedication...** this chapter is dedicated to the wonderful **icefang7** so thank you very much for your **12 reviews!**_

_Okay, one last thing. I really would love some more reviews. I only had 17 on my last chapter and I'm not going to withold updates until I get something like 50 reviews the way some authors do, because that's just mean, but reviews really do make me want to update because it let's me know that you all are actually enjoying what I'm doing. Thanks :) Enjoy_

**BELLA'S POV**

_Danielle stared at Brian. Had he truly just kissed her? She watched as he situated himself in the driver's seat and she moved to take the passenger's seat, forgetting her father in the back seat. Did he feel the same as she? Could he want her the way she did him? She couldn't imagine it was possible._

_She was a broken soul, unwanted, hated, unprotected all her life. Worthless. That was always the word she used to describe herself because she knew it was true._

_Maybe he didn't love her, and maybe he never would, but maybe, just maybe, it was possible she could live without that. And maybe, with time, she could show him that he could feel the same for her, that he could reciprocate those feelings._

_Was her wishful thinking getting the best of her? Was her hope blinding her from reality? Or was this a true possibility? Could she be wanted? Was she loveable? Was she more than just an insignificant child for a father to take his anger out on? More than just a punching bag? More than just a maid who did everything she could in the hopes that she'd go to bed without a bruise for once?_

_Brian watched Danielle as she stared off at the front window, questions swimming in her blood red eyes. What was she thinking? he wondered. He worried. Had he overstepped his boundaries? Had he upset her? Was she angrier with him now than she was before for taking advantage of her? Had he taken advantage of her? But she'd kissed him back, hadn't she? She hadn't pushed him away, but she'd responded. Couldn't she at least want to chance testing everything he could offer her?_

_He watched as he drove to the abandoned warehouse they hid away in. The Ware-Home, as he liked to call it. Every few seconds he'd glance at the rearview mirror, looking at the completely lost man who sat in the back seat. His hair was the color of Danielle's, his complexion and skin color identical, his face shaped so similarly. A brother? No, the age difference too grand. Her father? But why would she want to hurt her own father?_

_He looked again to the woman beside him. Did she hate her own father? Did she truly want him dead? Did she want to be his captor? His torturer? His killer? What could he have done to her to deserve such a burning hatred from his own daughter? His flesh and blood?_

_Brian couldn't even begin to imagine exactly, but lists of the endless possibilities began to form in his mind. He was so concerned for her. This red headed woman with brilliant red eyes that burned deeply into his soul whenever she glanced at him. The fleeting look she chanced at Brian did not go unnoticed and he caught something in those beautiful red eyes that he couldn't ignore, but was afraid to ask about._

_He didn't want to risk asking her about her father either, for he knew she'd grow upset with him, and that was the last thing he wanted._

_He thought of a topic, anything that could keep him sane through hearing her voice and keep her from hating Brian further. He knew telling her he loved her wouldn't go over well. He wasn't particularly romantic, but he seemed to know the right things to do and say for Danielle. He sighed, unable to think in the brutal silence of the car, feeling the heavy air taking a toll on him. He reached to the radio and turned it on, fiddling with it until he caught any sort of signal through the static._

_The music filled the car carefully and Danielle smiled as the soft sounds reminded her of the mother she'd lost all those years ago, the person she'd loved and aspired to be. She was beautiful with her strawberry blonde hair and her golden eyes. It wasn't fair she'd had to lose her mother, wasn't fair that she was left alone for her father to take his sorrows out on. But she couldn't think of those things at the moment, so she let the music sweep through her, relaxing each and every one of her tensed muscles, easing all of her hypersensitivity to her surrounding, and just lost herself to the sound of her mother's favorites._

"_Clair de Lune," she whispered, not even realizing she'd spoken aloud._

"_He was truly a magnificent man," Brian responded, smiling at her as she opened her eyes, surprised as the realization hit her._

"_You knew him?" she asked, forgetting it all as she marveled at the possibilities of all Brian's years. She'd been around him every moment of every day for the past month and she'd never given a thought to the things he could have been exposed to in his five hundred years._

"_Quite well. He taught me everything he knew, considered me his prodigy, but I was forced to leave before he had truly been appreciated for I couldn't allow myself to be exposed."_

_She could feel herself calming, even as she glanced at her father in the back seat. He still had to die, she told herself, but maybe she wouldn't torture him. Maybe. "Tell me more about your past." But at the moment she wasn't interested in just anything about his past. No, she just wanted to know if he'd ever been in love, if he'd ever…been…with anyone, because she wanted desperately for to be his first because he would be hers…if that ever happens, that is, she amended._

"_There is not much to tell, I'm afraid. I have normally hidden away, spending a few years in society during the nights until it all became to boring and I would revert back to the forests and run wild like I always thought I was meant to."_

"_You think you're meant to be a wild animal?" she questioned._

"_Most days, though I feel far more civilized with you around," he answered._

"_Have you ever changed anyone before? Ever traveled with anyone?"_

_He shook his head. "I was a loner, always had been. Until a month ago, I guess I'd never once thought to do to anyone else what I did to you." He looked to Danielle with apology in his eyes. "I truly am sorry for what I've done to you, but I felt I couldn't be without you."_

_And she couldn't help her smile. "I don't understand it, but I'd never wanted to be around anyone in my life until I'd met you. People…I just…never felt as if I was one of them. I was a penny while they were all hundred dollar bills. How could I ever compare? Ever do a thing?"_

"_Shhhh," he shushed her suddenly sorrowful voice. He couldn't believe how she thought she was nothing, worth little to the world around her. If only he knew that his world wouldn't exist without her in it. "Danielle, please do not speak of yourself in such a manner."_

I could tell I was putting myself into Danielle's character, putting Edward into Brian's, and Jacob, Lauren, and all of my other dark monsters, my haunting thoughts, into the character I'd set up as the father. Many thought this was how books were destroyed, but in truth, it was this envisioning of yourself and others you know as your characters that builds the strongest basis of your books.

A knock resounded from my door and I clicked the small save icon. "Bella?" my angel's voice called and I smiled, remembering our wonderful day at First Beach yesterday.

"Come in," I replied, powering down my laptop before setting it to the side of the bed. He was still in his pajamas as he walked into my room, and while I hadn't changed hitherto either, he had yet to rub the sleep from his eyes. I laughed as I patted the empty space beside me, watching as he collapsed beside me, causing the bed to quake and me to bounce off of the mattress. "Morning sleepy," I greeted, lying down so our faces were level.

He groaned. "How are you so awake this early?"

"Edward, it's nine o'clock," I told him with a giggle.

"My point exactly," he replied, emphasizing the _zact _of exactly.

I kissed his cheek. "I woke up around five and couldn't fall back asleep, so I've been writing for a few hours." That wasn't exactly true, but hey, did he need to know that?

"Why would you awake at five?" he mumbled into the pillow.

"Alice woke me up early this morning with her hushed screeching about some sort of crisis at work," I answered, but I was lying. I'd been awake all evening, unable to fall asleep because I was debating whether or not to admit my feelings to Edward. I wanted to, so desperately, but I didn't know how.

His hand searched out mine blindly and I grabbed onto his, lacing my fingers with his so naturally. Our hands fit together so perfectly, like missing puzzle pieces to the other. I watched him as he rested, his soft rhythmic breathing beginning to lull me into a gentle sleep before my cell phone began to ring with the familiar ring tone I'd set for my father.

"Dad?"

"_Hey Bells."_

Edward's eyes were still closed and I could see him smirking. Why, I didn't know, but all I knew was I was momentarily mesmerized by his glorious features.

"_Bella? You there?" _I blushed, getting caught up in the sight of my beautiful boyfriend.

"Yes, I'm here."

"_Have you seen People Magazine?"_

"Not yet, why?"

"_I've got all these people saying you look great in it and I picked up a copy and, well, wow Bells. Congrats."_

I laughed at my father's feeble attempts to say that he was impressed and proud of what I'd accomplished. I couldn't fault him for it, however. He and I were much the same, very timid as far as emotions went, but we always understood what the other was trying to express.

"They were supposed to send me the information about the spread before hand," I said, confused.

"_Maybe they sent it to the wrong address or something?"_

"Maybe."

Edward eyes opened and he watched me as I spoke on the phone with my dad. He smiled at me and squeezed my hand.

"_So…um…how are…things?"_

Translation: how is your fledgling relationship with Edward doing and do I need to fly up to Forks with my gun and scare the crap out of him?

"_Things _are great, Dad. Alice is going to be running an interior decorating company, Rose is really getting on with her designs for her car, Emmett's finally bought his new gym, Jasper's practice is growing, I'm working on a new book, and Edward's been terrific." He smiled at me and placed a light kiss on my cheek.

"_So…"_

Translation: you're having sex with him, aren't you…

"Dad…"

"_I'm just worried is all Bells."_

"Don't be. I know Edward won't hurt me. He's too good to break me," I answered and leaned forward to kiss him gently. I listened to my father's contemplative silence while I kissed Edward lovingly, making sure he understood I believed his promise from last night.

"_May I speak with him for a minute?"_

That threw me for a loop. "I…er…I erm…Um…Edward, my father wants to talk to you."

He looked like he wasn't surprised, taking the phone and holding it up to his ear.

"Chief Swan?" First way to win my father over, be respectful. "Alright, Charlie, then. You wanted to speak with me?...Yes, I am…I do…Completely…Not yet…Yes, I understand…I would never…of course, sir…Alright, it was a pleasure speaking with you Chief Swan." He handed me the phone back.

"What were you two discussing?" I asked.

"_Don't be nosey, Bells, it's unbecoming."_

"Yes, Bells, it's unbecoming," Edward joked.

"_I'm at the station right now, so I guess I've gotta go, but I'll call you later, alright?"_

"Of course. I love you, Daddy." I never called him Daddy, and it was weird, hearing the word coming out of my mouth, but I was just so appreciative of how kind he obviously was to Edward over the phone that I couldn't help.

"_Love you too, Bells, love you too."_ His voice sounded a little different, and I knew it was because he was realizing the same thing, that I never called him Daddy. And then the line was dead and I closed my phone.

"So, we're heading to the hospital in Port Angeles. Jasper is doing his volunteer hours there and I want to surprise him. It's nice how he volunteers, and the smiles he puts on those people's faces are priceless. I was thinking we could take him out to lunch, you know?" I suggested to Edward.

He nodded. "That sounds like a nice idea. Plus, then I get to see the hospital I'll be spending the next few years at and then you and I can go do something just us afterward."

"Huh, I didn't even think of that. You're always on top of everything, aren't you?" I teased, tweaking his nose which only made him laugh as he pulled me over top of him and I straddled his waist.

"I'm not always on top, Bella," he whispered huskily.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_OMG! Just saw PPL MAG! __U l00kd gr8! C U 2nite! -Alice_

_Seen it yet? Evry1 4 the MAG luvd it! Congrats Bells! -Seth_

_FAB-U-LOUS! Ttly celebr8ng 2nite! -Rose_

These were among the millions of text messages I'd received through out the day. I walked hand in hand into the hospital that would control Edward's future, at least for the next few years. His eyes were darting around in every direction as he tried to take in every aspect of the hospital that he could. I, on the other hand, was taking in the fact of just how many women were staring at my Edward, licking their lips or going into a dreamy state.

I'd been spoiled, I realized. I really hadn't stepped out into the real world with Edward enough to realize the looks women gave him. It was always just the two of us at home, the only other women really being around him were Alice and Rose, and I guess you could have included Esme, but she was his mother. If she was thinking about Edward like that, well, then she belonged on Jasper's couch. The only woman who'd I'd noticed looking at Edward was Lauren, and how could I have missed that considering the way she was _all _over him?

I stumbled as I shot a glare at one of the women and Edward's arm instantly tightened around my waist, keeping me upright. He hadn't even been looking at me, but instinctively it was as if he knew I was about to fall, even though he was off in his own little world.

He kept walking straight, but I stopped, laughing as he nearly walked into a wall. "What?"

"Last I checked, you didn't have the ability to walk through walls," I joked.

"You're right. My powers are merely limited to mind reading," he joked in return.

"Besides, even if a hallway magically appeared there, you'd be going in the wrong direction," I told him, leading him to the elevator on my left. He chuckled and followed me into the open elevator and I pressed the button for the third floor as I wrapped my hand back into Edward's.

He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand and hummed along with the annoying elevator music as we ascended. The doors slid open with a _ding! _and we walked out and toward the waiting room of the wing I knew Jasper would be in.

He volunteered sometimes with psych patients, knowing that they rarely got the care they needed because so many of the workers in the ward felt most were just homeless people who wanted a place to sleep at night by saying "I'm going to kill myself" and being put under a 72 hour suicide watch.

We leaned against the wall discussing a few things when Jasper walked right by us, stopped, took three steps back, and looked at us. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

I smiled. "We thought we'd take the nice psychiatrist out to lunch for his good deeds," I told him sweetly.

He smiled. "That's really sweet you guys. If you can wait an hour and a half, I can break for lunch then. I just want to go see a few cases they handed to me. This ward is really short staffed."

"Sounds alright, I think Edward wants to do some exploring anyway."

"Check out the second floor, that's where you'll end up working," he said before he started walking in the same direction as he'd been before.

I smiled at Edward. "Well, you heard the man. We're off to the second floor." I smacked Edward's amazing butt before skipping off to the elevator, my man chuckling as he scurried along behind me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We wandered around the different wings of the hospital, careful not to enter restricted areas. Edward found it funny how I knew my way around this hospital better than he did. "What can I say? I'm a danger magnet."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the harm you seem to bring upon yourself," he whispered.

"You'd have to be Batman, Superman, and…and…um…"

"Not much of a comic book girl, were you?"

"Spiderman…"

He chuckled. "I get your point, Bella. No need to dig through your brain for more superheroes."

I laughed. "Good, because I don't think I could come up with any—"

"Edward?" a sickly sweet female voice I didn't recognize called out.

Edward turned to look over his shoulder and grimaced. "What is it?" I asked.

He stopped and turned around to face whoever had called out his name. "Tanya," he said without any emotion whatsoever and I whipped around to see her.

She was flawless. Strawberry blonde hair, just like I'd described the hair of Danielle's mother in my book, long legs, thin body, as tall as Edward, incredibly beautiful, and nothing I could ever compare to. So, this was Tanya. Why didn't he want someone like her?

"Edward, what are you doing here?" she asked surprised.

"Visiting my cousin."

"Oh, you two look a lot alike," she commented, looking at me.

My brows furrowed and I was about to speak, but Edward did before I could. "She's not my cousin, Tanya. This is my girlfriend, Bella."

"Hi," I waved timidly.

_Awkward turtle._

"Oh, girlfriend. I thought you didn't have time for girlfriends, Edward." The pointed look she was giving him was bothering me. Did he use that as an excuse to keep their 'friendship' just that and nothing more?

"Things change, Tanya." His tone was friendly and his face was a smiling mask and to anyone else, they looked like two friends catching up on old times. To the three of us, it was obvious the tension. Edward's arm held me tightly against his side and I took comfort in his presence because I was afraid Tanya would want to hurt me by the look on her face.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, and while I didn't want to look at it, I knew it was a phone call and not a text message which meant it could be important. I read the caller ID and sighed. If it were anyone else, I would have left it, but I'd been waiting for this call all day.

"Excuse me, but my publisher is calling." Edward reluctantly released me and I went out the front doors which were just down the hall so I could speak.

"Tyler?"

"_Have you seen your spread?"_

"No, not yet. They were supposed to send me something ahead of time and tell me when it'd be coming out but I never got either."

"_They sent something here to me, but I assumed they'd sent you your own copies."_

"No, I suppose not." I hoped this conversation would move quickly. Tyler always seemed to call me at the most inopportune time which involved Edward and other women. He must have heard the impatience in my voice because he tried to hurry this up.

"_Check it out when you get the chance. Is your book coming along alright?"_

"It is. It'll be done soon, I promise."

"_Don't rush your perfection, Bella. I'll talk to you soon. Goodbye."_

"Bye." I hung up the phone and walked back into the hospital to heart Edward say something that made me freeze in place.

**EDWARD'S POV**

"What are you doing here?" I hissed as I watched Bella's retreating form.

"I didn't intend to bump into you, Edward. My uncle called me up here to see him work in the hospital this weekend and I agreed," she replied in the same tone of voice.

"What was with the cold shoulder toward Bella?"

"What was with telling me you moved after the fact?" Wow. Nice guilt trip Tanya.

"Tanya…"

"Edward, you and I both know it all meant more than just sex. If it didn't you would have been able to say good bye to me, face to face."

"It meant nothing more to me than I already told you it did. It was exercise and a way to relieve stress. That's it. Nothing else."

She ran her finger down my chest and her eyelids drooped. "Come on, Edward, you know it meant something." I pushed her hand back.

"Don't touch me."

"I'm sure _Bella_ touches you like that." She spat my girlfriend's name like it was poison.

"She does."

"And I bet she's just your most recent fuck buddy, right? It means nothing, right?"

"It means everything, Tanya," I growled.

"Yeah right. She's your girlfriend. How long is _that _gonna last? Maybe a month or so?"

"It'll last until she'll accept something more," I told her.

Her voice was venom as her eyes widened. "You mean you actually want to be with that little…little _hobo_ for real?"

Why would anyone use _hobo _as an insult? She'd at least sound more mature if she used the word bitch or something. "Don't call her that, and of course I do."

She took a step toward me and tried to wrap her arms around my neck. "Oh puhlease Edward. Just forget about her and come back to my hotel room. We can spend a nice relaxing afternoon—" I pushed her backward carefully. I was a gentleman, I didn't ever hurt a woman, but I needed her to back off.

"No, Tanya."

"Please? It'll be just like old times."

My jaw clenched, my voice raising up a notch. "No."

"Loosen up. You know you want to."

My voice was stern now. "No, Tanya, I don't want to."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because I have Bella."

"Come on, you can't honestly tell me you'd pick her over _me_…"

"I can easily."

"Please Edward?"

She was really starting to irritate me.

"NO."

"Why not????"

"Dammit! Because I love Bella!" I all but shouted at her and she cringed back, her mouth open wide as she truly heard what I'd said, startled by my raised voice.

"You do?" a timid voice asked from behind me and I spun on my heel to see Bella stock still with her hands over her mouth and a tear in her eyes.

I walked toward her, determined to tell her because at least I couldn't chicken out now. I'd admitted it and she had to know it. I mean, it was pretty obvious, to me at least. I wasn't very subtle about it.

"Of course I do." I took her hands in mine, my voice now as gentle as it was last night, a stark contrast to the volume of it just seconds ago.

"But—"

"Shhhh," I cut her off, pressing a finger to her lips. "I love you, Isabella. I tried telling you last night, wanted desperately to tell you last night, but I couldn't get it out, so let me speak now. Obviously, this isn't a romantic night under the fireworks or a beautiful candle lit dinner, but I can't take it back now, won't take it back now. I couldn't believe it at first, but the second I saw those pictures from the shoot of you and me, I knew. I knew there was no denying it and I knew I loved you."

"I love you too," she whispered.

"Thank god," I sighed in relief before my lips crashed upon hers. The world melted away around me as my heart sped up. She loved me, and I loved her. Nothing could be better.

I didn't hear Tanya growl in frustration, didn't hear half the nursing staff 'aw' at our little performance, didn't notice the number of people walking passed us. I was completely absorbed into this thought, this dream, that Bella was mine and that we both loved each other.

My arms wound around her, holding her tightly as if it were possible that the second I let go, she'd disappear, fly off, just out of reach. One of her hands rested on my chest while the other hovered upon my cheek, her fingers grazing my skin lightly.

Our lips moved perfectly in sync, just as they always did, and I could feel her smiling into the kiss just the same as I was. I couldn't have been more content.

Someone tapped my shoulder. "Go away," I muttered against Bella's lips.

"You two are making quite the scene," Jasper said with a chuckle and I broke away from the kiss, being reminded that Bella and I were in a hospital. Her cheeks were flushed bright red, part from the kiss, part from embarrassment.

"Sorry." I looked to my cousin who couldn't seem to keep his face composed the way he wanted to as he laughed.

"I'm not the one who'll be working here for the next few years," he answered with a shrug.

I smirked. "At least everyone knows now that I'm taken."

"I hope we just don't have to remind them of the fact," Bella mumbled as she buried her face into my shoulder, only causing me to chuckle. She was so adorable.

"Ready for lunch?" Jasper asked, smart enough to change the subject.

"Of course. Bella?"

"Let's haul ass, asap," she answered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**BELLA'S POV**

_He loves me. He loves me. HE loves me. He LOVES me. He loves ME! _I continually sang happily over and over again in my head. The tune was starting to bother me, but what could I tell you? The song was catchy.

We went to a cute little pizzeria that, in my opinion, had the best pizza within a hundred mile radius. It was Jasper's favorite too, so we figured we'd show Edward the ways of the Washington Pizza Eaters.

We selected one of the back booths and Edward slid in next me, draping an arm loosely over my shoulders as he leaned back into the brownish green cushion. Jasper sat across from us and smiled at me, knowing just how happy I was at the moment. He slid a magazine across the table and his smile turned to a grin.

"I suppose you haven't had the chance to see this yet."

I shook my head, picking up the issue of People Magazine and looking at the cover. It was the picture of me in one of my "public appearances" outfits leaning back against the wall with that damned serious look on my face. I laughed while I blushed, knowing that was the first thing some half of the women in America have seen today. "Exclusive with Isabella Swan – Novelist and one of America's Sexiest Women – Inside," I read from the cover and laughed. "Yeah right."

"I think you're sexy," Edward whispered huskily in my ear and a shiver ran down my back. Blushing, again, I looked up to see Jasper laughing quietly to himself.

"Humor. Har," I muttered sarcastically in his direction. I flipped to the pages to see the spread. The opening picture was of Edward and me, the picture where he was holding me so I was upside down. I couldn't help but laugh. It was too perfect. There was a small collage of photos, including the ones with the dancing and then as many others as they could include. The next big picture was my "fun and random" and it was the one where I was down in a split, the picture taken like a bird's eye view.

"Fuck," I heard Edward cuss under his breath and I laughed.

"Missed that part of the shoot, did you?"

He pouted. "Yeah."

"I'll show you tonight then," I replied and I could hear the muffled groan as he imagined that. What was it with guys and flexibility?

We ate the pizza in silence as Edward and I read over what Seth had written in the article. His comments were cute and funny in his introduction and closing, but over all it was praising me. I loved Seth even more now than I did before.

"Twice in one day," that damned female voice said as she slid in beside Jasper.

I looked up. "Oh, hello Tanya," I greeted kindly, not that I was quite feeling that way toward her.

"Bella," she sneered.

I leaned further into Edward and he turned and brushed his lips against mine, whispering, "I love you, and only you, Bella."

"And I you, Edward," I whispered back.

"Ooo, is that the new People Magazine issue?" she asked excitedly.

"It is," I answered, smirking. "Would you like to see it?"

"Of course! I heard they had an exclusive with that Isabella Swan!" Wow. She didn't even know she was talking to Isabella Swan right now. Stupid!

"Yeah, I heard that too. I was just reading it now," I replied, handing her the magazine which was already opened to the page as Jasper cringed away from Tanya.

"I've never seen her before," she said as she looked at the picture.

"Actually, you have," I responded and she looked up at me.

"How would you know?" she asked, all nicety disappearing from her voice to be replaced by hostility.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan. It's a _pleasure_ to meet you," I answered, my voice laced with a saccharine tone.

She laughed. "Yeah, right. Like anyone would ever put trash in a magazine like this."

"It's true. Look who's holding her up," Edward retorted smugly.

I saw her eyes widening and mouth dropping open and I laughed. "Edward? You- Your- What the…"

And then she tossed the magazine on the table and stomped away to the bathroom.

"I love you," I whispered to Edward, laughing quietly as I watched her enraged form.

"I love you too."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**EDWARD'S POV**

We all gathered in the living room after our celebratory dinner for Bella and her magazine (which means Bella cooked food, we all ate, and then we had ice cream with the works). Rose sat on Emmett's lap, his burly arms wrapped around her tall frame. Alice laid with her head in Jasper's lap where they sat on the sofa, the People Magazine in her hands. Bella and I were sprawled out on the floor, holding hands and smiling like idiots.

"Okay, so listen to this," Alice said as she began to read aloud whatever article she was reading. "_What is sex? We've asked our readers to submit their thoughts. Here's what you've said…_

"_Jaclyn, 32, Hollywood, Florida… 'Sex is a way to show your partner you love them'._

"_Doug, 21, Nashville, Tennessee… 'Sex is something to do when it's raining. Does there always have to be anything more to it?'_

"_Amanda, 24, San Francisco, California… 'Sex is a poetic fight for dominance between man and woman.'"_

"Not if you're doing it right," Bella blurted out, earning laughs from everyone in the room.

"Because Bella would know," Alice chirped.

Bella maturely stuck her tongue out at Alice and I smirked at Bella. "Better watch what you do with that thing," I warned teasingly.

"I know what I plan on doing with it," she purred in my ear.

"Eddie's got a boner," Emmett sang and I flipped him off. "We all know that's what you wanna do to Bella!"

"Grow up, Em," I grumbled.

"Speaking of growing up, who wants to play Wii Baseball?" Emmett asked excitedly. Bella cringed into my side and I took that to be that she'd be sitting out of the game.

"I'm in," I replied and kissed Bella on the cheek before standing up and grabbing a controller and tossing one to Em.

"Sweet!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I grinned at Bella who lay beside me in my bed where she'd agreed to sleep for the evening. She was tucked under the covers, looking at me with the same feelings in her eyes as were in mine. "I love you," I whispered.

She smiled, her eyes lighting up gloriously as she replied, "I love you too." And her hand came up to my face as she leaned up to place a kiss on my lips.

Our lips moved slowly, the most pleasurable pressure upon each other's. One arm was already wrapped around her waist, and so I wrapped the other around her, pulling her as close as I could to me. Passion, love, adoration, electricity. All filled our kiss.

I turned us both so that I hovered above her, never once breaking the perfect kiss. Her tongue ran along my bottom lip and allowed my tongue to meet hers and caress it. I opened my eyes to see her beautiful chocolate eyes looking back. Her hair flared out on the pillows, her cheeks tinged pink in the darkness, her soft skin drawing me in. I couldn't stop myself as I began to remove her shirt.

Clothing was shed slowly as skin caressed skin and time swayed slowly off into the distance as we kissed until finally there was nothing that could stop us. I slid into her and the reminder of how perfectly we fit together was ever present before us. I looked into her eyes and she looked back as her hands weaved through my hair, her fingers massaging the back of my skull, and I moved in and out of her.

Our lips locked again and the kiss felt everlasting as time suddenly froze and the world suddenly disappeared and all that was left was the two of us floating through the air, lying together on Cloud 9 high up in the sky until finally we fell over the edge into eternal bliss together.

"Bella." The only word that crossed my lips through the entire experience and my name was all that she was able to whisper.

And as I crashed down beside her beneath the covers, cradling her small body to mine, I whispered the words that took me entirely too long to say, and she returned them with the same sincerity and emotions present.

"Sleep well, my love."

"As long as I'm beside you, I will."

And I hummed a random tune that come to me as I closed my own eyes, only seeing her beautiful face, until her breathing was even and her heart rate was average. And I began to slip from reality as well, traveling into a state of dream which were filled with one thing.

My angel. My love. My heart. My being…_My Bella_.

_So...there you go. What you've all been waiting for! The big ILY! This was again a little bit of a shorter chapter, but there was still a lot in it and i tried to refrain from all my side notes, because not everyone thinks they're all that cute and funny, as I've been told, as well as did less with descriptions of outfits and what not since apparently that's just a waste of space...so...REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS!!!! Thanks for reading :) c u all next week! ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAYS because I know I will!_


	19. This Is Life

_I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, (20 minutes later) really, really, really, really, really, really sorry about not updating last week. My brain was just totally shot. My grandfather is in the hospital with heart problems and i was sick monday and tuesday so my brains been on a bit of an overload, not to mention my head is flying around in circles with story ideas that i don't want to start writing until I'm ready to commit to them. Anyway, I was also super busy (English Essay, Segment, Intro, Family, tennis, reading, puking, so and so forth) so I didn't really get the chance to update or answer reviews. I wanted to thank everyone who did review. Someone asked if my parents read my story, and I'm going to answer with a 'no they dont' for very obvious reasons lol. Lord, if they only knew what truly went around in their child's mind...I wouldn't touch the computer for a year. Anywhoozle, I got a lot of reviews which makes me really happy, and while i had such a brain fart that my usually 10,000-11,000 word chapters weren't a possibility, i attempted to give you a super sour lemon to make it up to you. Hope you like._

_Finally, the dedication goes to, (insert mysterious drum roll that's coming from nowhere and everywhere here) **Renesmee-Nessie **with **18 reviews! **Yippee! Thanks Ness!_

**BELLA'S POV**

I giggled. "Edward, come on." He chuckled against my skin as he continued to kiss a fiery path up my neck. "Edward…" I warned when his hands began traveling down my body.

"Please Bella, just another hour in bed…for me?" he pleaded.

I groaned, pushing him off of me. "I want to, I really do, but I haven't been working nonstop the past two weeks for no reason."

He sighed and fell back against his pillow, hitting the mattress full force with his back. "It's been a long two weeks."

"You have no idea."

"Yes, I do, love."

I looked into his eyes and nodded. "You definitely do."

He sighed again and stared up at the ceiling. "You've really got to go, don't you?" I nodded. "It's Saturday, Bella. Why so early?"

"Seattle is a long drive away. I wanted to get this over with in the morning and then be able to spend the rest of the day with you or making edits or something. I was hoping to get out of here before you woke up."

Edward looked at the alarm clock and groaned. "It's four fucking thirty in the morning. Remind me again why I woke up."

"My cell phone alarm woke you, and you decided not to ignore it and go back to sleep. You are a horny little thing, you know that?"

He chuckled. "I'm anything but little, love."

"No, definitely not little," I agreed, sitting up and getting out of the bed. Edward let out a low whistle and I just giggled as I put on my silk robe. "Go back to sleep, Edward."

He crooked a finger, asking me to travel toward him. I agreed and he smiled at me, placing a wonderful kiss on my lips. "Good luck today, sweetheart."

"Hmmm, I love you."

"I love you too." His eyes closed and he had a smile on his face as he lay back down to fall back asleep. He looked so beautiful, and his sex hair was damn nice too.

I rushed across the hall to my room, glad that I was the only who had to be awake early today because anyone else would have loved to give me shit for coming out of Edward's room in nothing but the tiny little silk blue robe.

I showered quickly and threw my wet hair up into a pony tail before going into my room and putting on a pair of thin brown slacks and a deep blue short sleeve see through top with a white tank top underneath. I chose simple brown flats – no reason to cause myself bodily injury – and collected my printed copy of my writing, my laptop, my purse, and my keys. I ran – okay, I walked incredibly carefully so I didn't fall and wake up the entire household…well, except for Emmett…there could be a bomb exploding outside and Emmett would still be dead to the world – downstairs and dumped a cup of coffee into my travel mug before picking up a piece of paper and writing out my little note.

_Hey!_

_It's about five now and I'm heading to my publisher. Book is finished! Although, editing process begins now (insert sigh here) and so keep me in mind next to your luck considering I have the crappiest luck of all of us. I love you all – Edward especially – and I'll be home by four if not earlier…god, I hope earlier._

_Anyway, Bella._

With that done, I went out to my car, locking the house behind me, and drove off to Seattle, already missing Edward. Today was going to be a long day.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I woke up for the _second _time this morning to an empty bed and sighed. Bella was not here today. No, she was with Crowley. I growled in frustration. I wanted her here. Two weeks ago we admitted our love for each other, and the next day, Bella was locking herself in her room, refusing to come out because she had 'a stoke of genius-ness' and had to write, claiming she wanted to finish so we could spend the rest of our summer.

Every morning in the past two weeks, I'd wake up to her wonderful kisses all over my face, neck, and chest – because she didn't want to leave me before I woke up – and then she'd dash out of my room and into hers so that she could write all day. I'd bring her coffee, I'd see her for lunch and dinner, and then I'd see her as we went to bed, enjoying her lovely body as we made love, and then slept with her in my arms, waiting for the pattern to repeat the next day.

I'd busied myself with playing the piano. It'd started with playing my favorite music, then to my own previous compositions, until the third day I just couldn't get Bella's face out of my head for three minutes. I started playing the melody that came to mind when I saw her face, thought about everything about her, and soon I had a melody all for her. And I hummed it to her every night after that, lulling her to sleep restfully.

I groaned as I got up from the bed, going directly to my ensuite bathroom. I looked in the mirror after starting the shower, and while I was upset because I'd hardly seen anything of my Bella, I still had a goofy grin on my face. Bella was right, I was a horny little thing…but I'm not little.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Morning, Eddie!" Emmett boomed as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning Lucy," I replied, sipping my coffee and relaxing back into my seat with the newspaper.

"Oooo, Bella left a note!" he declared. I rolled my eyes. He sounded like a five year old.

"Yes, Em, Bella left a note."

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Alice asked, strolling in excitedly with Jasper in tow.

"Your mom," I muttered into my mug.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Rosalie asked, wrapping her arms around Emmett. I groaned. I wanted Bella here. The other two couples looked at me oddly. "What's your problem Cullen? Didn't get any last night?"

"Oh no, he got some. I heard it…all of it," Jasper replied, grimacing.

"Bella's not here," Emmett chirped, holding her little note up in the air.

"Oh…" they all responded in annoying unison.

"Yeah," I muttered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Why did I agree to this again?" I asked Emmett and Jasper for clarification.

"Because you _love _us," Emmett sang.

I punched him in the side. "Don't be such a girl." His booming laughter along with Jasper's chuckles was heard beside me as we walked ten feet back from Alice and Rosalie. We were at the strip mall in Port Angeles and I was getting more and more bored as we passed each store. "Alice, how much longer?" I whined.

She turned around and smirked at me. "Don't be such a girl," she mocked.

I scoffed. "I am so not a girl…and I'm not little either," I replied, though muttered the last part to myself.

Emmett and Jasper of course overheard and didn't let it alone the rest of the time we were at the mall. When they were all distracted in Victoria's Secret – Emmett had been in the dressing with Rose for way too long and Jasper was walking around with Alice, helping her pick out lingerie that I hoped I would never have to see again – I snuck off and walked the streets of Port Angeles, taking care to remember where I was going.

There were a number of stores, restaurants, and apartments as I walked. I saw a boutique and a deep blue dress that, judging by the color, would look amazing on Bella. Sigh. I was becoming pathetic, or maybe I wasn't considering I hadn't seen much of her in two weeks. Either way, I couldn't stop think about her and it was really driving me crazy.

"Get used to it," I muttered to myself as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my cargo shorts. "You're starting your residency, you won't be home much and when you are you'll be exhausted. You've got two years before you two can even think about having what Mom and Dad have."

The front of my flip flops caught the edge of the slightly upturned side walk and I stumbled, just barely keeping my balance. I chuckled as I realized that Bella was rubbing off on me.

Sigh.

She was doing some of that last night.

I leaned against the wall of the building I stumbled in front of, grimacing at the sound of chairs scraping along floors and other things. I watched them bringing in some equipment from a truck parked in front, blocking my view of the street. "I wonder…" I turned around and looked at the building. _The Living Room._ Huh. There was a sign at the open door. _Adriano Schiavo LIVE tonight!_

Cool.

I pushed off the building and went inside. They had a tone of places like these in Chicago, and if they worked the same way, I'd need to have tickets. You could purchase them at the door, but if you got them earlier, you'd be sure to have a seat if you wanted.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**BELLA'S POV**

I walked into the house with a smile on my face at five, a little later than I'd intended but traffic was hell and Tyler went through every goddamn detail instead of simply giving me his red-inked copy.

"_I've been reading everything you've sent me each night after you've finished your writing for the day – which might I add is a lot easier than getting one whole copy three nights before our meeting – and I must say I'm impressed. There are, however, a few changes I'd like to discuss…"_

A few my ass. He spent three hours going over different things he wanted me to edit, and while I admit there weren't _too _many changes – all of them completely minor, but would really enhance the book – he went into excruciating detail about every single one. If I didn't know better, I'd have said I thought he was only doing it to keep me in his office longer. But I did know better, and I _knew _he was doing it to keep me in his office longer.

And the way he looked at me. I shivered in disgust. Pervert. Had he ever heard of professionalism? I was so going to get ready to look for a different publishing house after this book. I was through with Tyler. He can have his fame, but he sure as hell can't even considering _having _me.

"I'm home!" I called out into the house, still managing to smile because of how well the meeting went otherwise. There was no answer. I looked around a few of the rooms, but the house was incredibly quiet. "Hello?"

No answer.

I looked outside and noticed the BMW was gone. Great. They weren't home. Sighing, I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a soda. Two strong arms wrapped around my waist, causing me to jump and spit my sip of soda back into my glass. "Shit. Edward, you scared me."

He chuckled as he kissed my neck. "Sorry, Love. It wasn't intentional. Just wanted to surprise you, that's all."

"Yes, well, you managed that…a little too well I might add." I leaned back against him and took another sip of my now backwashed soda. His lips slid along the column of my neck. "Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"Port Angeles."

"Why?"

"Shopping, dinner, and a movie."

"Fun."

"It wasn't."

"You went?"

"Shopping, yes. I was bored here."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's alright, Love. How'd it go?"

I smiled. "It went well. We're entering the editing process."

"And what does it mean for your schedule?"

I turned in his arms and placed the glass on the counter behind me. I looked up into his beautiful green eyes, trying to hold strong and not get lost in them. My heavy arms wrapped around his neck, weighed down by a lack of sleep, and I pulled myself up on my toes and his face down a little further so we were even. "It mean you have me for the next month all to yourself…except for a trip every so often to Seattle, _which _you will accompany me on." And then I kissed his lips with fervor, because I had been dying to see him all day. Tyler had _nothing _on Edward.

He hummed against my lips and his tongue parted mine without even asking permission. I pulled back, grinning at his frustrated face. "Anxious, aren't we?"

"Just a smidge." He released me and I frowned at the lack of contact. He picked up my hand, but I preferred his whole body pressed against mine. "Come on, upstairs." My frown turned into a grin, but Edward shook his head, chuckling. "Mind out of the gutter, love. You need to go change."

"Why?" I asked, frowning again.

"Because you don't wear work clothes on a date," he replied nonchalantly as he led me upstairs.

"Oh, oka—wait what?"

"You, me, a date, now, change."

"Into what?"

"The dress on the bed. Do you need me to put it on you, or do you think you're capable of doing so on your own?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "As much as you'd enjoy taking my clothes off and helping me change, I think I'm capable." I pecked his lips and went into my room, not even bothering to shut the door. He'd seen as much of me every night the past two weeks.

Lying on the bed was a lovely, deep blue party dress that would fall about mid-thigh. It was sleeveless and had a mock neck with four buttons in the back at the top so that you could pull the dress on. It was satin and solidly colored and exactly the sort of dress I would have chosen to by if I were on my own and needed a dress.

I quickly changed and put on some natural makeup and let my wavy hair fall loosely around my shoulders because I didn't know what else to do with it. I decided that I would throw on some higher heeled shoes to go with the dress because it was so perfectly simplistic and I wanted to be nearer Edward's height all night. I grabbed the same pair of deep blue strappy heels that I had worn the night we went to _Jane & Alec's _and plus, they matched the dress without flaw.

However, Edward would need to hold me tightly tonight or I'd fall all over the place.

Edward was waiting downstairs and I didn't know whether to be offended he didn't want to watch me get ready or complimented that he couldn't do for his own good. I, of course, didn't know his reasoning behind it, but I hoped it was for the second reason.

He grinned crookedly at me when he took my hand at the bottom step and I smiled back at him. He wore dark designer jeans, as he always did when he wasn't just lounging around, and a dark gray polo. His Steve Maddens, as per usual, were on his feet, and I didn't think he could look any handsomer than he did now. I quickly amended that to 'when in clothes, he couldn't look any handsomer than he did now'.

"You look exquisite," he whispered in my ear when he pulled me to him and planted a short, loving kiss on my lips. I felt my knees weaken at the simple gesture.

"Thank you, you look delicious." He chuckled as I blushed, realizing I'd said the last part aloud.

"Thank you."

He led me out to the car and helped me into his Volvo before getting in himself.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"Port Angeles."

"Where in Port Angeles?"

"A place."

"What place?"

"The one in Port Angeles," he replied chuckling.

I hmphed and sat back in the seat, crossing my arms. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

"Well, sucks to be you."

I giggled. "I don't think it's half bad being me when I have a wonderful boyfriend like you."

He grinned crookedly at me and took my hand in his, clasping them together in my lap and the turning his gaze back to the road.

"So…" I started, trailing off.

"So…"

"Where are we going?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Edward parked the car in front of Bella Italia. "Oo! I love this place!" I exclaimed.

"So Alice said," Edward replied. "I saw it while I was walking around and decided it would be a perfect place to begin our evening."

"It will be." I reached for my door handle, but quickly stopped, causing Edward to chuckle and smile beautifully at me as he hopped out of the car and rushed to my side.

"Here you are, milady." He extended his hand to me after opening my door and helped me out of the car.

"Thank you kind sir."

"It was my pleasure." He started chuckling and I looked at him curiously. "I was just remembering the first night I moved in when I beat Rose and you and Alice declared me the new ruler of the Halo Kingdom." I giggled, remembering Alice and I bowing down to Edward and then Edward speaking in old English, asking me to take his to his 'sleeping quarters'.

"Good times," I replied, giggling happily as he put an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. He opened the door to the restaurant and led me inside where Jessica was standing at the podium. She perked up immediately when she saw Edward and probably didn't even notice me.

"Hello," she purred as soon as he was within ear shot. "How may I help _you?_"

Edward cleared his throat and bent to place a kiss on my forehead, erasing the crease that I hadn't realized was there. "Table for two, please?"

Jessica was then forced to look to me and it was nothing like her usual kind attitude when we spoke. Her usually friendly smile was hardly there and what was there was entirely forced. "Bella, how good to see you. What a lovely _friend_ you have here," she strained to say.

I smiled at her. "Jessica, this is my _boyfriend _Edward. Edward, the hostess, Jessica." I felt Edward chuckle, but he managed to keep to cover up the sound with a few entirely fake coughs.

"Right. This way," she replied, irritated, and carried two menus in her hand as she led us to a table in the middle of the room.

"Could we have something a little more…private?" Edward asked.

I looked up to see him grinning crookedly at her, but his eyes were alight with amusement. Bastard. You don't mess with people you don't know. God, I loved this man. I was feeling so fucking bipolar.

"Uh…uh, yeah sure." She led us to one of the back booths and I slid in while Edward slid in next to me. It was strange having an entirely empty bench on the side opposite us, but I preferred that Edward was able to wrap his arm around me. "Your waiter will be over momentarily."

The second Jessica left, I smacked Edward's arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For dazzling her."

"Dazzling?"

"You know, using your hypnotizing looks to stun her into relenting."

He chuckled. "Do I dazzle you?"

"Frequently," I replied as he smoldering green eyes found mine. He smirked at me and bent to place a kiss on my lips. It was probably intended to be short and sweet, but neither of us wanted to pull away as our lips, as per usual, moved in time together.

"Ahem," a male cleared his throat all too near to us. I opened my eyes and immediately pulled back when I saw Eric standing there with a pen and paper. "Would you like something to drink, Bella?"

His eyes were focused entirely on me and I looked to Edward, placing on last kiss on his cheek before looking back to Eric. "Just my usual coke, thanks."

"Make that two."

Eric nodded and returned five minutes later for our food orders. I got my usual mushroom ravioli while Edward got tortellini alfredo. We played 'Something I Don't Know' while we ate, a game where you told the people you were with something that none of them knew about you. There was still a lot, unsurprisingly, that Edward and I didn't know about each other. Most of them were little things, but it's the little things that tell you just how well you know a person.

When dinner was done and we were away from a very miffed looking Jessica, Edward walked me a few blocks down the busy street to a little place called _The Living Room. _I'd seen before, but never gotten the chance to go in and see what it was all about. There were cars parked along the sides of the road all around, the restaurants busy and a number of people gathering inside too, so I figured that was why we walked instead of Edward parking the car nearer. It was a nice night anyway without the rain.

We went into the small building where there were couches lining the walls and then tables with chairs in the center of the room, candles in the center of the table. The room was lit only by the candles. There was a small platform where a band was playing random things on their instruments to warm up and test microphones. Edward handed two tickets to the guy at the door and we were each stamped.

Edward led me to one of the couches and we sat down. I curled up into his side and watched as a man stood at the main mic with hair that looked a lot like Emmett's, but with a build more like Jasper's, carrying a guitar. He placed a water bottle on the stool next to the mic and smiled out at the people sitting in the audience.

"Hey guys, I'm Adriano Schiavo. I'm from New Jersey, and this is my first time playing anywhere outside of the tri-state area." He talked a little while longer while they continued to fiddle with lighting, microphones, instruments, and the like. He explained that he wasn't signed yet and he was going into California, hoping to finally break into the music business because, as much as he loved teaching tennis for a living, music was his dream.

When they finally started, the sound was amazing. It was a soft listening sound and his acoustics were really nice. His voice was soothing too, almost as much as Edward's, but it didn't have the same velvet sound to it that had me melting on the spot. Still, it was incredible that no one had signed him to their label yet.

I especially liked his song _By My Side._

The words were well written in all his music, but I just loved the chorus of it especially, and I was undoubtedly a word person.

_When the world is fading out of view,  
It's only you I'm seeing  
When I'm lost it's you that gets me through,  
The pain I'm feeling  
The only thing I know left to be true,  
Is the love you're givin'  
All I know is that you're by my side._

The pattern was nice and the first two lines were the way I felt most times around Edward. He soothed me constantly when I panicked or was upset about anything. And sometimes, the only truth I knew was that Edward loved me (at least in the past two weeks).

**EDWARD'S POV**

I patted myself on the back (in my head) for setting up the night so well. Dinner went perfectly and the show was going well. Bella was cuddled into my side on the couch and I was holding her tightly around the waist to keep her in place as we drank our wine and listened to Adriano's smooth vocals and masterful guitar. His music wasn't too varied, which may have been the reason he wasn't on a label yet, but it was all soothing and pleasant to listen to. I'd buy the album.

_When I wake up and I feel your body next to mine,  
Feels so fine it's like a sweet ray of warm sunshine,  
Nothing matters on the world outside it feels alright,  
Baby it's all alright._

His song _All Alright _reminded me of how it felt waking up this morning (for the second time) without Bella in my arms. "You are going to be in my arms when I wake up tomorrow morning, Love," I whispered into her ear. She shivered.

"Where else would I be?"

I chuckled. "Nowhere else, I hope."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When we got home, everyone else had yet to arrive back, which really didn't matter much to me considering Bella and I wanted some alone time anyway. If you asked me, I would have said it were perfect. Bella was exhausted, and I pleasured her until she came twice, which only seemed to exhaust her more. I was tired myself, and while I was still aroused, I didn't actually think I could actually had the energy to get up, let alone anything else. I simply lay down beside Bella and hummed both her and myself to sleep.

**BELLA'S POV**

I woke up around three in the morning from a severely hot dream. Needless to say, it consisted of a naked Edward and ice cream. So, I supposed you could say it was actually a severely cold dream, but it was hot. I saw him lying beside me, sleeping peacefully with a small smile on his face. When I looked down, I saw he still had an erection that looked almost to point of painful, or so it seemed.

I instantly felt guilty. All he'd done all evening was pleasure me…my favorite restaurant, an incredible show, even made me cum twice. I'd tried to convince him to let me take care of him, but he said we were both too tired and began humming a lovely lullaby. I was asleep before I could protest further.

I threw on the robe which I'd returned to Edward's bedroom before I left this morning and scurried down to the kitchen as quietly as possible. "Shit!" I whisper-yelled when I walked into the corner of the counter in the dark. I quickly moved to the fridge, rubbing my hip as I tried to ignore the stupidity, and went to the fridge.

I'd seen it in a very naughty movie that Alice and Rose had been watching two years ago, and I'd sat to watch too…just out of curiosity. The movie involved a very vampish female, an aroused male, and ice cream. It was also exactly what was in my dream last night.

Picking out my favorite – plain vanilla of course, what else for a plain Jane like me? Though, I was starting to think I wasn't so plain Jane anymore – and got a spoon from the nearby silverware drawer before tiptoeing – okay, stumbling – upstairs to Edward's room.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I came awake awash in pleasure, very similar to the pleasure I'd been experiencing in my dream. A chilly, sensual, exquisite pleasure that had my balls tightening and my body rearing as my hands reached out to hold this pleasure in place, to keep it from retreating.

"Stay, or I stop." Bella's voice was silky smooth, dark, and aroused.

I watched as her mouth rose from the aching length of my erection. She lifted a pint of ice cream from the bed beside her, dipped the spoon in, and brought a healthy chunk to her lips. I tightened. Watched. Waited. Her head lowered as one hand gripped the base of my cock and tucked it at her lips. Then she flowed over it.

"Oh Fuck!" My hips arched from the bed as she began to suckle at my flesh with a greedy hunger.

The cold cream washed over my cock, sending a riot of icy sensations to attack my overheated flesh. Her tongue flicked over the violently aroused flesh, stroking and caressing as her mouth suckled at the head.

I fisted my fingers in the sheets, my hips arching, my head grinding into the mattress as ice and flames battled, dragging a tortured groan for the back of my throat as sweat began to coat my body.

_Son of a bitch, this is good_, I thought. _So fucking good. How am I going to survive it? _I fought to stay still, to keep my hands at my sides and to let Bella choose. Oh hell, if she didn't hurry and choose to let me fucking come, then I was going to have a stroke.

"Bella," I panted. "Love. Hell." She was teasing me again. Her tongue licked around the engorged head before she sucked it deep into her mouth again, her tongue working on the underside like a silken flame.

She moaned around the swollen crest. The vibration of the sound nearly sent rockets exploding in my brain. Clawing fingers of sensation gripped every vertebrae of my spine and constricted every muscle in my body.

I blinked, trying to clear my vision as I felt my cock swelling. _Son of a bitch, as though it's not swollen enough. _Her hands were stroking the shaft, from the base to where her lips covered, up and down, as she sucked, licked, and then moaned again.

And I exploded.

The growl that tore from my throat shocked me – and probably woke the whole house at this point, not that I cared – as did the exquisite ecstasy that began to race though my balls, up my spine, and struck my skull with reverberating force. A second later the feeling of my semen exploding in her mouth sent my mind into complete chaos.

My hips arched as semen all but blasted into her mouth, relieving only the worst of the hunger clawing at my belly. It took the edge off, yet it did little to relieve the stiffness of my erection. I knew what I wanted.

"I hope you know what the hell you've just down," I whispered, groaning as my hands reached out for Bella, gripped her arms, and tossed her back on the bed.

I lifted myself up over her, my knees spreading her thighs as she stared up at my with a sultry, heated gaze. _Damn, she's sexy. _Her eyes were slightly tilted, the deep brown gleaming up at me as I stared down at her. Her swollen breasts were tipped with hard, cherry nipples.

I lowered my head, drew one into my mouth as a cry tore from her throat and I tucked the head of my cock between the luscious folds of slick, soft flesh.

"Hmmmmm," I hummed at her breast before licking her nipple again. "Oh, this is good."

I pressed forward slowly, fighting to breathe as I felt the incredibly snug muscles of her vagina grip my dick. Fuck, she was so tight it was all I could do to live through the pleasure.

It was like taking a virgin. Every time. Not that I'd deflowered many women, but still. Working my cock slowly inside her, feeling her milk me in, hearing her startled little cries of pleasure that certainly had the house awake now.

"Bella…Love." My hands moved to her hips, hold her still as she arched beneath me. "Hold still, love. Let me be easy. Let me take you easy."

"Who needs easy?" Her voice was rough, desperate as her hands gripped my hair like they always did. Like I loved for her to do.

I would have chuckled if I could have caught my breath. I was halfway inside her when the muscles of her vagina began to do that _thing. _Shit. Hell. How was I supposed to keep any semblance of my control with a thousand tiny fingers working over my cock, pulling my inside her. That was what it felt like. The muscles working against my cock, stroking and stroking at me until I felt as though my head was going to explode from the need to come.

"Bella, I'm trying." I retreated, pressed, retreated again.

"I don't need…easy." Her cry echoed with hunger, and if anyone had slept through anything before, they were certainly wide awake now. I still didn't give a crap. "I need it all. Now. Now, Edward." She arched to me again, her thighs widening, her body straining against me.

And I lost my control, then and there. With a ragged groan, I pulled back before surging inside her in one hard, long thrust.

Fucking her was so incredibly hot, so much pleasure I swore each time I would never survive it.

"Kiss me Bella," I all but begged. My hands moved from her hips as I penetrated her to the hilt.

My fingers speared into her hair, clenching into the shiny brown strands as my lips covered hers. The taste I craved was there instantly. Strawberry. Just like she smelled, though her scent was from her shampoo. Ambrosia. I kissed the taste from her lips, then drew her tongue into my mouth and suckled more.

God, she was sweet. From head to toe. Every soft pore she possessed, and it was mine. She was mine.

Holding her to me, I began to move, my hips shifting, drawing back before plunging my cock inside the hot, tight depths of her pussy. I fucked her with desperation, because right now, I was a desperate man. I fucked her with imperative need, because she made me ache, made me long, made each possessive impulse in my soul desperate to bind her to me.

I took her with my body, then I took her with my soul. Deep, driving stroked, and shafted inside her powerfully, satisfaction surging through him as he felt her tighten.

"There you go, Love," I growled against her lips. "Come for me, Bella. Let me feel that sweet pussy exploding around me."

"Damn you." Her cry was filled with increased hunger. "Harder. I need you harder."

"Harder," I groaned. "Hell, Bella. I don't want to hurt you. I can't hurt you."

It was all I could do to slow my thrusts as much as I was. I wanted to drive into her, but she was still so fucking tight, gripping me with delicious strength, with tender muscles. I couldn't hurt.

"Do it." She tore her lips from beneath mine. "Do it now." Her voice was almost pleading, the need evident. And she was sexy as hell when she was demanding something.

She set her teeth into my shoulder and bit me. It wasn't a delicate little bite. Sharp teeth sack into my flesh, sending a spear of heat and pleasure-pain exploding inside my skull.

I took her harder. Holding her beneath me, I drove into her over and over again, until she arched under me, tore her mouth from him and screamed.

As thought that sound were the catalyst I needed, I felt my balls tighten violently before I exploded inside her.

I came as though I had never come in my life. Violent pulses of my seed erupted inside her as I drove into the very depths of her. My body jerked as hers shuddered beneath me. Convulsive spasms tore through the both of us as explosions began to ease and then slowly faded away.

I lay against her, fighting to breathe for long seconds before I finally collapsed to her side and drew her against my body. The violence of my released had sapped the last remaining strength from my body, and I knew sleep was only seconds away. Peaceful, unaroused sleep.

I heard the soft chuckles of my housemates, along with the booming laughter of my brother. I ignored them as I surrendered to my need to rest. "Sleep now," Bella whispered in my ear.

"Good night, Love," I replied, tucking her closer into my chest as my chin rested against her head.

_Here. This is life, _I thought as my eyes closed and sleep overtook me. _Right here._

_A note from your lovely Author, Jordi Brooke: So...soury lemon, any thoughts? Good? Bad? Should I stick to romance and leave out the lemons? Really? You think? Luv u too!_


	20. Electricity

**_a/n: Ugh, I'm sorry again. I'm always giving you guys pathetic excuses for my lacks of updates lately. I've had terrible writers block on this story and it's killing me to have to draw out these update periods. I wanted to have at least one a week, but that's just not working out right. Anyway, I do have to say that last weekend and the weekend before weren't really update weekends however because I just had midterms. Last weekend was the weekend between my midterms (had one two on thursday, one on friday, then one on monday, and two on tuesday) and the weekend before I was spending studying. Then I was sick all week (my immune system is really failing me in the past few months) and all throughout I was just miserably trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. I've heard the shortest distance is a straight line, but in stories, it's always a long, curvy, figure that makes an author's mind a living hell when they can't come up with the things they need. So, my mind has been in mass chaos mode. However, I did finally get it done and there are maybe one or two more chapters after this and there's one outtake that I'm determined to include. If there is an outtake you guys are going to want, write that in a review so I can make sure I give you guys everything. Anyways, I got extra computer time this weekend since I got an A- on my vid com midterm, an A on my World History Honors, an A- on my Biology Honors, an A on my English, a B on my geometry honors, and an A on my spanish. Aren't you all so proud???_**

_So, it's dedication time y'all! Yeehaw!! Today's dedication goes to...**mabit the rabbit **& **polyphany **& **twilightfan104 **each with **12 reviews!!! **it's a triple whamy! woo! which is why there are three little lemons in there for you guys! enjoy! sorry again about the late update_

**EDWARD'S POV**

I smiled as I woke up to Bella's body tucked safely against mine. She breathed evenly against my skin and her eyes remained lightly closed. The pitter patter of rain on my bedroom window had stirred me, and despite the early hour, the smile on my face was still goofier than ever. Last night was…words couldn't even describe it. I still couldn't figure out what came over her last night, but whatever it was, I secretly hoped it would happen again. I was a gentleman, but note the word 'man' was in there.

I placed a small kiss on Bella's cheek and she smiled softly. "I love you," I whispered in her ear before disentangling my body from hers and removing myself from the bed, just barely keeping myself from returning when I saw a frown mar her wonderful face. I felt grimy with dried sweat and I could feel that my hair was plastered to my forehead from last night's activities. I left the bedroom to my bathroom and turned on the warm water, stepping under the spray as soon as the temperature was perfect.

I sighed contentedly as the heat hit my muscles, soothing the sore tension I didn't even realize was there. I closed my eyes and began to hum the lullaby that I'd composed in my mind and had almost finished on the piano in the past two weeks. Two very long weeks. I'd hummed it to Bella every night as she fell asleep and she'd sometimes whisper something about a lullaby in her sleep, so I knew she realized it was hers – at least she did subconsciously.

I was almost finished with it too. I just needed to finish writing the final five or six measures, but I was a little stuck on how to end it. I'd gotten myself to it, just didn't know where to finish it out at.

My shower didn't last long, for which I was glad because I was dying to return to Bella where she lay in my bed. I dried off quickly and brushed my teeth. Neither of us cared much about morning breath – it was more important to kiss each other than anything else – but sometimes it was a sweet pleasure to add the extra minty tang into the kiss. Wrapping my towel around my waist, I went back to my bed where Bella's arms were moving restlessly on the empty side of my bed. I smiled at this. She was searching for me.

I quickly walked toward the bed and knelt down on my side, leaning across toward Bella and allowing my lips to descend upon hers. She instantly stopped moving her arms and relaxed happily into the bed. I pulled back before deepening the kiss, leaving it as something sweet and simply. "Looking for me, love?"

She nodded. "Good morning." Her voice was soft and still heavy with sleep.

"That it is." I lay back down on my side and pulled her body against mine, satisfied now that I had showered and more than comfortable as Bella put her face into the crook of my neck and inhaled my scent. Then she giggled lightly.

"You showered."

I wanted to ask what was so funny about showering, but I'm sure whatever her answer was it would surprise me. "I did."

She frowned. "I would have showered with you. You know, conserve water and all that?"

I chuckled. Didn't think she'd say that. "You looked so peaceful in your sleep, I didn't want to wake you."

She nodded and placed a kiss on my neck. "I love you."

"I love you too."

. . . . . . . . . . .

**BELLA'S POV**

I woke up again sometime later to Edward rubbing circles into my hand. I kissed his neck where my face was still buried and moved to get up, but groaned instantly.

"What is it, love?" Edward asked.

"Ow," I muttered. It did hurt. I was suddenly more tempted than ever before to remain in bed.

Edward stopped rubbing my hand instantly and turned to look at me, concerned. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Sore," I mumbled. I pushed my face into the fluffy pillows that smelled like a mix between Edward and me. Yummy.

He relaxed back into the position he was in earlier and moved me slowly to lay comfortably in his arms. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" I asked, opening my eyes to look at him. His face was sincerely apologetic. I didn't understand why. It was the good kind of sore. The kind of sore you get after a night of mind blowing sex with the man you love. I would take that kind of sore any day.

"I hurt you," he replied, rubbing his hand up and down my back.

I moaned because even if it wasn't my back that was sore, it felt really good. "You didn't hurt me, Edward," I protested, leaning up to kiss his lips again. I loved the way he tasted.

"But you just said you're sore," he said, bewilderment in his voice.

I giggled. "I am sore, but that's what happens. If I recall correctly, I begged you to be harder last night."

He chuckled. "You do recall correctly, my love."

"And you didn't want to," I continued, raising my eyebrow at him teasingly.

He frowned. "I definitely wanted to. I just…didn't want to hurt you."

I leaned up to kiss him again and hummed against his lips. "But you did it anyway because I asked for it. I love you."

He chuckled. "I love you too." The expression on his face was adorable. It was a cross between confusion, lust, love, and pride. I wanted to repeat last night's activities just because of it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Edward refused to let me get up on my own later. He lifted me out of bed, cradling me to his chest, and brought me into the bathroom where he turned on the shower and dropped his towel. "What are you doing, Edward?"

"Getting you into a nice hot shower to soothe your sore muscles, love," he replied, still holding me.

"Yes, but what I don't understand is why you're dropping your towel and stepping in with me."

"I'm taking another shower. Is there anything wrong with that?" he asked, stepping in without even testing it and placing my feet on the warming tile. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck as he turned so that my back was under the warm pulse and held the rest of my body against his chest. I placed my lips on his, kissing him while the warm water proved to provide me relief I never knew it could.

After a while of using up the endless supply of hot water we had, Edward reached behind him and poured some of the body wash I'd kept in his shower as of late into a washcloth that had suddenly appeared in his hand. I eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he was going to be a good boy or if he'd choose to torture me.

He washed me slowly and sensually, rubbing every inch of my body with care, precision, and purpose. His touch was so gentle, and yet every movement was enticing. I kept my eyes on his which were always focused on the area of my body he washing. When he was satisfied that I hadn't a speck of dirt left on my skin, he stood and picked up his shampoo bottle because I didn't have any in his shower. I was going to protest, because it was hard enough to deal with my hair when I was using the only stuff that made it manageable, but then decided that I sort of wanted to smell like Edward all day.

I put my head back to wet my hair entirely and then moved completely out of the spray and up against Edward's firm body, feeling that this shower was affecting him in one way in particular, about the same way it was getting to me. His hands went to my hair and I pressed my lips to his once again, placing my hands on his jaw to angle his face just perfectly. His fingers and lips were bringing me into my own personal shower heaven, and then I knew I'd found it when his tongue entered my mouth.

His hands continued lathering my hair with his wonderful shampoo while I kissed him enthusiastically and he responded with equal fervor. I moved my fingers into his hair and began toying with the bronze strands because I knew he loved it when I did that. One of his hands left my hair, traveling down to the small of my back which allowed him to pull me impossibly tighter against him while he pushed his body further into mine and then took it a step forward to push me completely under the spray.

He ground his hips into mine as he rinsed the shampoo out of my hair and his tongue explored my mouth. When I ground myself against his erection in return, he moaned loudly, but my mouth caught the entire lovely sound, the vibrations causing a heat that I was becoming entirely too used to to build low within my stomach.

I continued to grind against him as much as my sore muscles would allow. I could feel that he was as large as ever and by the way his kiss became more urgent, I knew he was getting close, and quickly. When he was finished with my hair, his hand slid down my back to join his other before they slid down to my thighs and he lifted me up, spreading my legs wide around his waist.

My muscles groaned in protest at the moment and I groaned audibly because it did hurt, but Edward took it as a moan as his tip tucked into my entrance, at which point the pain lost any place in my mind and I simply lost myself to him, truly moaning this time.

He slid in effortlessly and my body instantly worked to adjust to his large size. He was always large, and my body never grew used to it, something I hoped it'd never do. It was like it was meant to be that way. So perfect for each other. More pleasure for each of us.

My legs tightened around him, my ankles locking behind his back, as he pressed my back against the cool tile while to allow for the support we'd need.

I broke away from the kiss to allow us each the chance to breathe, and while it was usually Edward's lips that never left my skin, it was mine that remained on him as he regained his breathing and pulled out just enough to allow him to push back into me again. I bit into his shoulder instead of crying out and realized he now had two marks, one with just little indents that'd be gone within minutes and one that had a bit of blood and looked as if I…

"Wow, I really marked you last night," I managed to say as I pulled away from his skin to look into his eyes as he pulled out of me and thrust in again, my muscles tightening as pleasure filled me with each thrust. My hand slid down from his hair as he grunted out a 'yes' and touched the mark that I left there. I smirked, but then cried out his name as he thrust into me harder this time. I met each and every one of his thrusts after that, looking into his beautiful green eyes, all thoughts of my bite mark lost.

"Edward," I moaned as he shifted and hit a sweet spot. My eyes closed instantly at the sensation.

I felt Edward's lips at my ear and his tongue slid out and licked along the shell before whispering into my ear, "Open your eyes, love. I want to see your eyes."

My eyes slid open and all I could see was the beautiful emerald I knew and loved as I pressed my lips against his to catch both our sounds, not daring to close my eyes again.

I knew I was getting close, and Edward broke away from the kiss, keeping his lips hovering over mine. "Bella, I'm so close," he whispered. I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and he moaned. His dick twitched and I pushed myself onto him harder as I met his next thrust. "Shit," he cussed. I could tell he was trying to hold himself back. He always waited until I came before he would allow himself pleasure.

I let go of his lower lip and kissed up his jaw until I reached his ear. I kissed it chastely before purring, "Come for me, Edward."

And that did it for him. He fell over the edge, and his warm release filled me, sending me over the brink that I had been teetering upon dangerously for too long. I panted heavily in his ear as I rode out the wonderful ecstasy that he could always manage to bring me into and tried to catch my breath as I wondered how he always managed to take it away. "I…love you…so much," I whispered to him, resting my head back against the tile wall that wasn't so cold anymore.

He kissed my cheek. "And I, you."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Good morning," I chirped happily as I walked into the kitchen, my hand locked in Edward's as my friends all stared at us, then cracked up like there was something insanely funny. I looked down at myself. Shoes, check. Shorts, check. Tank top, check. Edward's unbuttoned dress shirt over top, check. There was nothing wrong with what I was wearing. So the shirt was Edward's. Alice and Rose used to do that all the time with Jasper and Emmett's shirts, they just didn't fit as well as Edward's did, not that Edward's really fit either. A little big, but I liked it. I frowned at them. "What's wrong?"

None of them could control themselves right away, but Emmett sobered up momentarily enough to say something that sounded like "it was for you".

I quickly grabbed my camera off of the counter where it usually sat, releasing Edward's hand and snapping something like forty pictures of Alice upside down in her chair, Jasper and Emmett writhing on the floor, and Rosalie trying not to choke on the food in her wide open mouth as they all laughed. Yup. They all looked really attractive now. I smirked. "Go ahead, say what you want, but I've got the perfect ammo for a counter attack right here baby."

They just kept laughing. Emmett said, "Screamer." No shit, I already knew that.

Alice snorted, mentioning something about me "taking midnight snacks a little too far" and I really didn't want to know how she knew exactly what had occurred last night.

Rosalie was just coughing and sputtering. I snapped another picture of the oat meal – at least I hope that's what it was – that had dribbled out of her mouth and down her chin. Really, she either needed to spit it out or swallow it. I giggled to myself. _That's what she said._

"You know, they really don't understand that we should be the ones laughing right now," Edward whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded. This scene was just fucking hilarious. "Are you four done yet?"

"Nope!" they all instantly replied. I just shook my head and walked over to the coffee pot, pouring myself a mug and taking a seat at the counter, Edward joining me happily and wrapping an arm around my waist.

"I love you," I whispered.

He kissed my forehead. "I love you too."

"Awwwww, E.B. Love!"

I laughed, because they were all too much.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Where are we going?" I asked for the hundredth time as Alice drove us girls in her Porsche. I knew the direction we were heading, to one of the large towns outside of Forks, but that really didn't give me anything specific enough considering there were a lot of places we could be going to.

"You are quite nosey Bella. You know, after what we were hearing last night, we should be asking all the questions," Rosalie called me out.

"Ask away," I replied, but immediately started blushing as I went over last nights activities for probably to billionth time since they occurred and then imagined retelling it all to Alice and Rosalie.

"Was it good?" Alice asked.

I giggled. "You all obviously know that answer." Really, I mean, last night was the loudest I had _ever_ been.

They giggled too. "Girl, you've got one set of lungs on you."

"I…uh…Thanks?" I wasn't sure what to say to that.

"I can promise it'll keep Edward happy," Rosalie pointed out. She was smirking at me from the passenger seat.

"I don't need to scream to keep Edward happy," I challenged confidently.

"Rosalie!" Alice squealed in delight. "Would you look at that? See! I told you sex with Edward would do Bella good!"

I laughed. "In so many ways…" I trailed off, mostly mumbling that to myself.

"Judging by last night, Edward really did Bella good." Rosalie's voice was mocking but in the friendly sort of way.

"Yup. Last night was…indescribable."

"You're sore, aren't you?"

I blushed. "Just a little."

"Bella, you were practically limping to the car!"

"Okay…so a lot."

Alice slowed down a little, probably hoping to get a little more girl talk time before we reached our destination. Wherever it was, we were meeting the boys there. "What inspired this passionate, painful lovemaking last night?"

Ah, the question I didn't know if I wanted to answer. "Well…you guys know how much work I've been putting into my writing the past to weeks so Edward and I really haven't spent much time…together. Sure, every night we were together and _together_…but we just really didn't get the full effect. Once I got home from Seattle, he took me out to my favorite restaurant and then we went to _The Living Room _to watch this guy, Adriano Schiavo, perform. It was a really terrific evening, but I was practically dead on my feet by the time we got home after getting up at four in the morning. He did…a little…you know…with his hands and after that I was just totally knocked out so we went to sleep.

"Then I woke up a little while later from a really…hot…er cold…or, I don't even know how to describe it…dream and decided I'd use what happened in my dream to repay Edward. So I went down stairs to the kitchen and got some ice cream and a spoon and then when I got back to his room, I sort of…maybe…"

"Holy shit, Bella. You sucked him with ice cream," Rose called out in astonishment.

I could tell I was tomato red at that point and looked down at the floor shyly. "Yeah…"

"Whoa, Bella! Who knew you had it in you?!"

I laughed. "It was kind of on impulse, you know…but Edward liked it."

"And then what happened? Because you could not be screaming that loud if you're mouth was on him."

"He flipped me on my back and fucked me," I answered in a meek voice. I loved my friends and they knew me well, but this was never a subject I'd really talked with them about when I was with Jacob. This was the first time we'd really gone this in depth about it. I'd listened to them go into excruciating detail about their times with Jasper and Emmett and whatever other took them the night before, but they'd never really asked me and I'd never really tried to tell…not like this.

Alice and Rose squealed again, Alice pounding her little fist on the horn of the steering wheel in delight while Rose stomped her sneaker clad feet. Huh, sneakers. That's not normal.

"Bella got screwed!!"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. They were just…wow, nope nothing. Couldn't even describe them in this moment.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I could see Emmett just bursting to say something and barely managing to hold it in. I sighed, knowing that it'd be better he got it out of system in here than with Bella around. It'd embarrass the hell out of her.

"Spit it out," I hissed at my brother.

"Is that what you told Bella to do last night?" Emmett teased.

"Oh no, big brother, she swallowed last night."

He had this horrified look on his face at that. "Dude, that's my Squirt you're talking about!"

"Don't ask if you don't want to hear the answer."

"Let's just pretend it wasn't Bella, alright? Because I want to hear what had you yelling 'fuck' last night." Emmett was one weird guy.

"What are you, a girl? You want details?" I asked as I looked at him.

"It's purely for the purpose of research. If it was so good, maybe I can get Rosie to do it," he replied, waving off my girl comment.

I shook my head. "You're one messed up dude." He flipped me the bird. "Fine, you want details?"

"Yes please."

"Do you really want details?"

"Really."

"Really?"

"Edward, you'd better tell me within the next five seconds or I'll hit your ass with a bowling ball."

"Fine, fine." I paused just to bother my big brother. I didn't get many chances to truly rile him up without getting pummeled. When he growled, I figured I'd better start. Jasper glanced at me apologetically. "So you guys know about mine and Bella's date last night. But then afterward we came home and I…er…pleasured her before we both went to sleep. Next thing I know, I'm waking up to this sweet, cold sensation…and—"

"Wait…what was the cause of this sweet cold sensation?" I mumbled it pretty incoherently. "Edward?"

"Be—"

"We're pretending this isn't Bella, Edward."

"Fine, _she _was giving me a blow job."

Emmett laughed. "Where does the cold come into play?"

I grinned. "Two words. Ice. Cream."

"Oh shit," Jasper muttered.

"Really? Man, that sounds like it rocked!"

"Oh, believe me, it did."

"I'm totally going to have to get Rosie to do that."

"Nuh uh, ice cream is our thing."

"But—"

"No cuts, no buts, no coconuts," I cut him off childishly.

"I bet she played with your coconuts," he muttered. I ignored him. "And then the two of you were pretty vocal afterward."

I could feel my entire body heating as I recalled every detail of what occurred afterward. "Afterward was damn good."

"What consisted in this afterward?"

"What do you think this afterward consisted off?"

"Hey! I wasn't sure if maybe there was more included in this evening than ice cream."

"No, the rest was just us."

"Then how'd you get her so—"

"Enough," I cut him off again. "We're here and I can see Alice's car." I immediately jumped out of the Jeep once Emmett had pulled into a parking spot and dashed toward Bella who was standing across the parking lot. She was just a bit red faced. She didn't even notice me approach and jumped when my arms slid around her waist. She claimed to know my hold to well, but I still managed to catch her by surprise every time she hadn't spotted me.

"Edward," she whispered in greeting, reaching behind her to put her arms around my neck. I kissed the side of the throat.

"Hello, love. How was your drive?"

"It was…interesting."

I chuckled. "I can only imagine what was going on, but I can assume it was very much like what happened in the Jeep with Emmett."

"Oh god, there's no telling what will happen now that he knows everything."

"Just about everything."

"Same difference. He'll just fill in the gaps with whatever he wants to."

"Look on the bright side. At least he isn't freaking out the way he did the first time you and I were together."

She giggled. "Well, you'd think he'd be used to the idea after now that it's August and we've been together since June."

My eyes were wide. The time had passed so quickly between us. "Has it really been that long?" She nodded. "Wow, it feels like you and I only met yesterday."

"I know. It really does."

She turned in my arms and stood on her toes while I leaned my head down so she could reach. Her lips pressed to mine lovingly in a short sweet kiss that she pulled back from rather reluctantly. _Yeah, I know the feeling._

"Come on, we should go inside," I told her after noticing that the other two couples in our group had disappeared into the building which housed the bowling alley. The retards wanted to go bowling.

Bella was reluctant the whole time claiming that "big heavy balls and klutzy women like her just didn't mix". Emmett made a comment saying that it was a good thing I didn't have big heavy balls. Bella, however, decided to be bold and corrected Emmett very quickly that _everything _about me was big. In response, Emmett asked me to drop my pants so he could be the judge of that. I decided I'd rather him just make his little comments than to drop my pants in front of him. We were brothers…but we weren't that close.

In the end, I won because I had been on the bowling team during the winters in high school. I got a load of crap for it, but just flipped them off. There was nothing wrong with bowling. Sure, it wasn't the most popular team sport but I didn't care. Emmett and Jasper both knew I'd been on the bowling team, what the girls didn't know was that Jasper was on the chess team and Emmett was on the fencing team. I mean really, if they were going to jab at me, they needed to realize that I had the same exact ammo as they did. I still wondered why Emmett chose fencing over wrestling or basketball, but that was a question I was sure would never be answered.

After that, we all just sat in the kitchen baking cookies with Bella. Emmett only helped because he liked the cookie dough, Jasper only did it because Alice forced him to. Rosalie and Alice did it because were hopeless at cooking otherwise. I did it because I enjoyed working in the kitchen with Bella, her back against my chest as she and I both worked on the same batch in perfect synchronization. We were always working together in that way, no matter what we were doing.

Days started passing again, as they always seemed to do with us, and Bella and I were enjoying our free time together too much, especially knowing how little time we'd have together once September came around and I started at the hospital in Port Angeles. We were making the most of it, that was for sure. I knew we were both thankful, however, for the flexibility available in Bella's schedule considering she'd be able to write at any point in time while I was at the hospital and then she'd (hopefully) be able to put her things down when I was home so that we could spend the time together. And even if she needed to keep writing, I'd gladly sit with her in my lap as she wrote just in order to hold her.

It was Wednesday and a lovely pair of lips was fastened to the back of my ear. I smiled, humming in pleasure. "Hmmmm, what is this sudden pleasure for, love?" I asked.

"The beautiful rose I woke up to," she replied. I had gotten a few roses yesterday when we went to the grocery store and I managed to hide them from here. I woke up a little before her and placed a rose in her hands before spooning her to me and going back to sleep.

"You're very welcome for the rose. It's nowhere near as beautiful as you, Bella, but the color's very similar to that of your blush." I grinned at her, finally opening my eyes to her. That was, after all, why I had chosen roses over freesia. The other roses were in a vase on my dresser, as we usually slept in my room. Bella claimed that it was larger and that it really didn't matter to her which room, so we simply slept in my room because Bella's windows caught a stronger sun in the morning than mine did.

She giggled and moved over top of me, straddling my waist. I could feel that she was more than just wet as she sat on my stomach and leaned over me, making me also very aware of the fact that we were both without clothing and that no barrier was between us. I groaned and leaned up, pressing our bare skin directly against that of the other. She smirked at me and moved her lips to mine, opening her mouth to me right away, knowing how eager I was already to kiss her fully.

I chuckled and my tongue extended, reaching out for hers as a loud crash of thunder struck outside. It'd been raining all morning and the thunder was loud, the lightening bright in the windows. Just then, the fan and the AC shut off, a loud beep ringing out from downstairs. I didn't really care too much. So what? No power? Didn't mean Bella and I had to stop what we were doing. Last I checked, that sort of electricity wasn't required for lovemaking. Bella and I made enough of our own anyway.

Bella moaned into my mouth as she pushed me back on the mattress and slid herself back, lifting her body off of mine and promptly sliding down over my shaft with practiced skill. I hissed at the familiar pleasure, yet it always seemed like a brand new experience each time.

My hands locked onto her waist and held in place for a moment, just to savor the feeling of her tight muscles gripping me for the first time that morning before I lifted my hips and her in the process, telling her to continue. She rocked her hips, but our lips never broke from the other's as we danced in our all familiar, loving way until the both of us came, calling out our names and breathing heavily.

She collapsed atop me and I wrapped my arms around her back, holding her against my heaving chest and mumbling her name. We both fell back asleep after that as I remained inside of her. I just couldn't stop wondering how things would turn out once I started at the hospital, but I supposed I'd just have to live the days as they came because life was too good now to worry about it any longer. Whatever Bella and I had would go on forever, it had to because there was nothing more perfect that could ever exist.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bella and I tended to take our showers together, but we decided on a bath because we had limited hot water without power to keep heating it and we didn't enjoy rushing.

I sat in the hot water and Bella stepped in as well, but I stopped her from sitting down. She looked at me curiously, but I grinned up at her mischievously. "Just stay, my love, you'll enjoy this."

She always did what I asked when I wore my smile that way, probably knowing that in the end I would. She'd gotten another Brazilian with Alice and Rosalie two days ago and I hadn't gotten the chance to truly admire such a gift properly. I moved so my face was right between her thighs and took a long drawn breath of the sweet juices that were beginning to pulse from her core.

"I'm going to taste you Bella," I breathed out and she shivered above me, her glistening juices just increasing in amount. I placed a chaste kiss on her slick folds before taking a lick that caused Bella to shiver again. I chuckled. "Careful, I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." I licked again and she moaned. Her fingers gripped my hair as I took another sweep with my tongue. "Delicious," I mumbled before blowing cool air against her heat.

"Edward," she pleaded.

"Yes Bella?" She didn't answer me, but I knew better than to tease her too much. It'd only come back around on me, and I while her revenge was more than pleasurable, it was pure torture as well, and I could hardly handle it. I slid my tongue beneath her fold and into her, taking in the full flavor that was Bella. A flavor I knew I could never have enough of.

"Edward," she moaned my name repetitively as I refused to allow her over just yet. Finally, I slid a finger into her, then another and a third, causing her to scream out as I pumped her. I knew just how to bring her to her edge, and did so without problem as she gripped my hair, then moved her hands to my shoulder in order to support herself, only one of my hands still supporting her waist. I removed my fingers from her as her walls clenched, knowing it would make me cum if I let her squeeze them. I gripped her hips to steady her body and lapped at the juices that slid from her dripping core.

When I was satisfied she was entirely clean and unsure if she would be able to keep standing any longer, I lowered her into the still hot water of the tub, positioning her perfectly over top of me before releasing her and allowing gravity to take its course, her vagina sliding over my painfully engorged cock as her arms wrapped around my neck.

"You can't ever be satiated," Bella mumbled teasingly as her mouth found mine.

Our lips brushed as I replied, "For you, love? I will always want more."

She found her seemingly endless stock of energy without trouble and lifted herself before falling back down over me. I moaned and locked my lips onto one of the erect nipples on her perky breasts. She lifted her hips again and I thrust upward and into her, loving the way her muscles gripped me tightly and worked me so well. It was nearly impossible to last longer than a teenage boy during his first time.

I bit her neck before sucking aggressively. I needed her to cum before me and I wouldn't hold out much longer, I knew that.

"Edward," Bella moaned my name. "Cum baby, cum."

She, however, took pleasure in whenever she could bring me over the edge before her. I fought it, however.

"Not until you do, love." I blew across the wet mark on her neck as I thrust up into her. I gave one long, hard thrust, bath water spilling over the edge of the tub and onto the floor, as I exploded into her and she grinned wickedly against my forehead, placing a chaste kiss there as ecstasy began to overcome the both of us.

Little white lights danced across my vision in a blurred haze as thunder crashed outside and lightening brightened the room only barely lit by candles. My heart thudded against my rib cage as Bella walls clenched around me and her little hands gripped my shoulders fiercely.

My name tumbled over her lips as it always did, though it was this time mixed with a variety of expletives. I loved it when she cursed, because it was such a turn on. She was always so innocent and shy looking, that when she did something like curse, the appeal was obviously clear. It was just so…the opposite.

I heard an urgent knock from downstairs. It was three thirty in the afternoon and we were in a house that was impossibly far off any main road…in fact, off of any road at all. Who would possibly be coming here in the middle of a thunderstorm when there was absolutely no electricity what so ever? And who would possibly bother Bella and me at a time like this? "Ignore it and they'll go away," Bella whispered in my ear. I tried to ignore it, but it didn't go away, not even after five minutes.

I groaned as I mustered all the strength, energy, and will power I still had in my body and moved Bella off of me, standing from the tub as the water poured off of me and I stood, getting out and grabbing the towel to dry off. "I'll be back in a minute, love," I told her, placing a kiss on her lips quickly and then drying off. I dried myself as I walked back out into my room and grabbed the first pair of jeans I could spot in my dresser before putting them on my only half dry body.

I walked down the stairs to answer the incessant knocking, grumbling about the interruption. I tossed the door open to see a really tall guy who reminded me of Seth. "May I help you?" I asked, trying to keep from growling. The annoyance, however, shined through very clearly.

He looked taken aback at my tone, even more so at the fact that I was standing in the doorway. The might have had something to do, however with my lack of a shirt. "I…um…I…"

"I don't mean to be rude, but I would very much like to return to my previous activities soon, so if you wouldn't mind hurrying it along…" My parents raised me well, but I had a beautiful woman who I loved very much upstairs in my bathroom very naked.

"I'm sorry. I must have the wrong house. I was looking for an Isabella Swan. I have something important to discuss with her." He turned to walk away and while I wanted him just to leave, I couldn't.

"Bella?" I called upstairs and into the house. He stopped and turned back.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Could you come downstairs, love? There's someone at the door who wishes to speak with you." I hoped that it was understood for her to get dressed. I heard her stumbling down the steps, feet moving along the wooden stairs quickly and prayed she wasn't just in a towel in front of this guy. When she was within my view, all I saw was long legs, her damp brown hair, and her blue silk robe. The guy in the door gasped at the sight of her and I grinned smugly, knowing she was all mine.

When she reached the bottom of the steps, she smiled at me, but then looked beyond me and her smile fell as she stopped walking. Her voice was surprised when she spoke. "Jake?"

**Bet you all expected that when you heard the Seth comment, right?  
So, I like reviews! Love you guys and again, really really really sorry.  
Life sux when you're 14...i don't think it gets much better though**


	21. Going Up, Going Down

**_a/n: well, this is a miracle, I actually got this out to you guys. I guess it may have had something to do with the fact that I knew exactly what I was doing with this chapter. I knew the ins and outs of it, nearly every detail from top to bottom. Sorry, but there are no lemons in this chapter. It just honestly doesn't fit into it. So, for those of you wondering what would happen with Jake, this is your in. If something doesn't fit, I'm really sorry, but once again, I didn't write all of this in one day, knowing that yesterday was my little sister's birthday and that today I had to go to her party. Fun fun. Lots of 11, 12, and 13 year olds. Okay it wasn't really that many and I actually enjoyed the rock climbing, but still..._**

**_Today's dedication is...Katherine Rosalie Hale with 10 reviews! Yay!_**

**_Okay, so it's 11:40 here and I'm about to fall asleep at my computer. I'm pretty much done here. Love you all!_**

**BELLA'S POV**

Edward. That man was too irresistible for his own good. And heaven help me, he knew what he was doing with his tongue and those beautiful, long piano man fingers. Who ever was downstairs had better hope I don't see them anytime soon for interrupting our lovely bath.

I was just about to relax into the water and let the warmth overtake me when Edward called for me. "Bella?"

"Yes?" I answered him loudly, my voice causing me to wince as it bounced off the tile in the bathroom. Note to self, do not yell in the bathroom if it can be prevented otherwise.

I got out of the tub and began drying off as he asked me to come downstairs. Someone wanted to speak with me? I wondered who. I hoped it wasn't Tyler. I was about ready to strangle him already.

I hoped it would be quick and really wasn't in the mood to let it last long, so I simply slipped on my panties and my blue silk robe – that would get them moving quickly – and let my hair fall down over my shoulders. I knew there was a hickey on my neck – thank you so much Edward – and I would have loved to have shown it off had it not been that I really already looked sexed enough.

I walked down the stairs quickly, watching my feet so I didn't slip, and then looked at Edward once I reached the floor, smiling in response to his smug grin. It was still raining outside and as I looked beyond Edward to see how heavy the down pour was, I spotted the visitor who 'wishes to speak with me'.

My feet stopped mid-stride and my smile dropped. I knew that tall, bulky frame, tan skin, long black hair, and face anywhere. But it was different seeing him this time. My mouth didn't dry up, my eyes weren't stinging with tears, my heart wasn't pained, and I didn't feel week. No, I felt like I could actually breathe, like I was…like he was…like he didn't matter anymore.

"Jake?" I asked in surprise. But surprise was the only thing. There was no sadness in my tone. No happiness either and I admit there was some annoyance, but given the circumstances, I would be pretty annoyed with anyone. After all, I was just having a wonderful afternoon upstairs with Edward. Really. We were having sex in the bath tub, the room lit by nothing but candles.

"I…um…Bella, we need to talk. It's really important."

Edward stood frozen between us as well, unsure of what to do. I looked at him and bit my bottom lip before extending my hand out to him and he instantly walked out of the doorway, taking my hand in his and wrapping his other arm around my waist, standing behind me, but I could feel the possessiveness radiating off of him.

"You could have called."

"I couldn't get through."

Right, no power. Wait, my cell phone. No he didn't have that number. My brows furrowed. He didn't have my house number either. Or the address for that matter. "How did you know where I lived?"

"Bells—"

"It's Bella, Jacob," I corrected curtly. His right to more familiar nicknames no longer existed. It disappeared about three years ago. Edward placed a small kiss on my neck, brushing my hair out of the way, in reassurance of his presence. I let him wrap his other arm around me and placed my hands over his arms at my stomach. Leaning back against his chest, I felt a bit more comfortable.

"Bella," he repeated, correcting himself and beginning again. "I think you should sit down. We really need to talk."

"Fine." I moved to sit into the living room, Edward refusing to release me as the both of us walked awkwardly toward the sofa. He plopped down on the cushion, dragging me down into his lap. I giggled at him as Jacob walked uncomfortably into the room and took a seat in one of the other chairs in the room.

"You've got a huge house here, Bella."

"There are six of us who live here, Jacob. Now would you please tell me what you must say, because I'd like to get back to my afternoon with my _boyfriend_?" I really was leaving little room for argument. My tone wasn't friendly, more authoritative. But I had to stand up to Jacob eventually, right?

I noticed the way he was seated changed a little more at the mention of me spending the afternoon with my boyfriend. He really bristled at the word. Maybe he was hoping Edward and I weren't really much of anything. He took a deep breath and began to explain.

**JACOB'S POV**

I turned onto the unmarked road wondering what I was doing. I knew what I was doing, but I was just afraid of how Bella would react. I'd already had to see her broken once before, thanks to yours truly. I already knew she wouldn't be happy to see me, but there wasn't any other choice. She wasn't picking up her cell phone or her house phone. No one was able to get a hold of her, and so now I was the one who needed to talk to her. And I was going to have to watch her face when I told her everything I had to say.

A few months ago, she sent me back her engagement ring, and I decided that it was finally time to propose to Lauren. She'd accepted, and then I came home from a long day of work to a huge fight over reusing Bella's ring. It took me a while to calm her down, but I finally did. I had intended to get her her own ring, but when I saw this one in a package in the mail, I took it the jewelers, had them clean it up, and then planned the perfect evening for the proposal. I promised her a new ring – because I was planning on it anyway – and we both went to bed on good terms.

"We love each other. Do you really need a ring to prove that?" I asked her, officially ending our argument.

Now we were fine and she had started making big plans for the ceremony, inviting all sorts of friends and family and helping me invite all of mine. She wanted to have it soon, saying that even though the paper meant nothing compared to our love, she wanted us to be official. It was what we had always said when we discussed marriage, because we knew that was what was true for us.

But I still regretted leaving Bella. All those years we spent together back in Phoenix were wasted because we had moved onto something which I ruined. I finally pulled up to her house and couldn't help but gawp. The thing was a mansion! I knew I'd seen her in magazines and headlines and her books were clearly a hit, but I didn't realize she was doing _this _well.

There weren't any lights on, but a red pick up truck was parked in front of the house. It was a lot newer and more expensive than the truck she'd had through college. It was still a big red Ford pick-up, though. The main difference was this one was a 2004 make, hers was from the '60s or something like that.

There was a silver Volvo parked right behind it, which meant she wasn't alone. Probably Alice or Rosalie's, but neither of them seemed like the Volvo type. Alice seemed more like the Porsche sort and Rosalie I pegged as a BMW girl. A Volvo was sensible, and if I knew those girls like I thought I did, they were more for look than sensible. They wouldn't have worn such high heels in college otherwise.

I took a deep breath and got out of my VW Rabbit, walking up to the porch and knocking on the door. No answer. I knew Bella had to be home, because there was a Mercedes out front too, and with three cars there, I had no doubt that the girls were in. I knocked on the door for five minutes without an answer, but I didn't give up. I kept knocking and by the time ten minutes had passed, the door opened.

Now, I was pretty sure this was her address. That was, after all, what Renee told me. Did she move suddenly and not tell her mother? Did her mom give me the wrong number or street? Did I make a mistake? Take a wrong turn? It _had_ been a long five hour drive, not to mention a chore trying to find this place.

But there stood some bronze haired guy who was probably around my age in nothing but his jeans. He had an annoyed look on his face, looking at me and then glancing back at the stairs behind him before looking at me again, his gaze still very annoyed. His hair was wet, so maybe he just got out of the shower?

"May I help you?" he asked, his voice just a notch away from being a growl. Okay, he was clearly annoyed with me. What had I done?

"I…um…I…" I must have been in the wrong place. It was very easy for me to have taken the wrong street.

"I don't mean to be rude," he started impatiently, "but I would very much like to return to my previous activities soon, so if you wouldn't mind hurrying it along…" His gaze returned to the steps and I figured his wife, girlfriend, lover, or whore was upstairs. Obviously, it wasn't Bella upstairs, so I began to turn to head back to my car.

"I'm sorry. I must have the wrong house. I was looking for Isabella Swan. I have something important to discuss with her," I threw toward him, hoping that he could point me in the direction of the correct house.

"Bella?" I heard him shout into the house, calling for her. I nearly growled this time. There was no way…

""Yes?" her angelic voice called back. No…

"Could you come downstairs, love?" What did he just call her? He didn't just call her love…did he? "There's someone at the door who wishes to speak with you."

In the next minute, I heard movement, her feet padding along the wooden floors of the steps. I looked passed the bronze-haired guy to the stairs just in time to see her…No. Nuh-uh. No way. Not a chance in hell. She was dressed in a next to nothing blue robe that barely covered her ass. Her hair was just as wet as this guy's hair. I must have gasped, because next thing I knew, the guy was grinning smugly. Fucker.

She smiled at the man, her brown eyes burning with love, before she looked at me. Her smile faded away when she saw me in the door and she stopped in her tracks. "Jake?" she asked in surprise. She was looking me in strong displeasure, and it was entirely different from the sadness I was so used to. It was probably because she was having a load of fun screwing around with Bronzy over here.

_Stop it Jacob, _I chastised._ You're here for a reason, don't get sidetracked._

"I…um…Bella, we need to talk. It's really important," I choked out as I tried to only look at her face instead of her incredibly nice body. I'd forgotten how great it was. _Stop it, you're with Lauren now._

She extended her hand to Bronzy (previously standing between us uncomfortably) and he took it before taking his place behind her and wrapping his arm around her protectively, claiming her as his. It was as if he was purposely trying to piss me off at the worst time. "You could have called," she responded shortly.

"I couldn't get through," I answered.

"How did you know where I lived?"

_I spoke with Renee and Seth and they asked me to come see you when no one could get you to pick up the phone…it's a pretty fucking stupid time to be screwing some guy instead of answering your phone…_

"Bells—"

"It's Bella, Jacob," she corrected curtly. Bronzy placed a small kiss on her neck, pushing her hair off of her neck and revealing a pretty impressive hickey. He wrapped his other arm around her body and she placed her hands over his arms holding them to her abdomen. Leaning back against his chest, she calmed a bit.

"Bella," I repeated, correcting myself, not really understanding why I couldn't call her by her childhood nickname. I'd always called her 'Bells'. "I think you should sit down. We really need to talk."

"Fine." She and Bronzy moved further into the house and I took that as an invitation to come inside. Closing the door behind me, I watched as Bronzy dropped to the sofa, pulling Bella down into his lap. She giggled uncharacteristically, but it came so naturally from her.

"You've got a huge house here, Bella," I complimented uneasily as I took a seat in one of the other chairs. This was really awkward for me.

"There are six of us who live here, Jacob." Six? What did she mean six? Did she live with this guy? "Now would you please tell me what you must say, because I'd like to get back to my afternoon with my _boyfriend_?" She was a lot firmer in her speaking, her voice stronger and more confident than I had ever known it. Did she just call him her boyfriend? I shifted in my seat, tensing up at the thought of anyone else having her similarly to how I had. I didn't like this guy at all. _Down boy, you chose Lauren._

I took a deep breath to calm myself and then began to speak the only words I had come here to tell her.

**EDWARD'S POV**

Bella was making it clear to both Jacob and I that she was mine. Was it wrong of me to take such pleasure in it? That, and she was making it just as clear, without actually stating it, that we were enjoying the physical aspects of our relationship before we were so graciously interrupted by the ex-fiancée. Bella shifted in my lap and I bit back a groan, knowing what she was trying to do to me.

"Bella, I came here for a reason, so let me get through with this. I'm really sorry, but I was obviously the only one close enough to reach you. Both Renee and Seth didn't know Rosalie and Alice's work number, and your mom lost Alice's, but couldn't get a hold of Blondie."

"Her name is Rosalie, and you know that Jacob," Bella spat.

"Sorry. Anyway, everyone's been trying to reach you since this morning. Bella, Charlie…he had a heart attack," Jacob said to her, his voice soft as he spoke.

I felt Bella tense in my arms. "What did you say?"

"Charlie had a heart attack this morning. He's in the hospital, and he's…stable, but it was pretty big. Your mom made reservations for three plane tickets for a plane that leaves tonight, one for each of you girls." He leaned forward in his seat and reached for Bella's hand, but she pulled it back before he could even come within inches and placed it on my shoulder as she buried her face into the crook of my neck. I held her tightly, waiting for her to cry, but she didn't. She just took long, deep breaths.

"Love, come on, let's go upstairs so you can pack," I offered, moving to stand and carrying her in my arms.

"I'm calling my mom," Bella muttered into my shoulder. "I'm canceling those tickets."

I stopped. "Bella, Charlie's in the hospital. Of course you're going to go see him."

"But Alice and Rosalie aren't."

"You can't go alone."

"I'm not going alone."

"Bella…"

"You're coming with me, Edward," she said.

"Anything you want, love," I replied, kissing her forehead. "But why cancel all three? Why not just cancel one?"

"Because I don't want my mom to pay for the tickets."

"You could just—"

"Write her a check?" She shook her head against me. It occurred to me that I was just standing there, holding her in the middle of the foyer. "She wouldn't accept it."

"Alright. I'm going to take you upstairs and you're going to pack for us. I'll order the tickets," I replied, beginning to carry her up the stairs.

She fidgeted in my arms as she lifted her head to look at me. She had tears just barely gathering in her eyes. "You will not pay for my ticket Edward Cullen."

I chuckled as she glared at me. "I _will _pay for your ticket," I replied, placing her on my bed and kissing her thoroughly to keep her from protesting.

"B—" Kiss. "I—" Kiss. "You—" Kiss. "Fine." Kiss. "I just agreed, Edward."

"I know."

"What was the last kiss for?"

"You're just too irresistible for your own good and my self control." I grinned at her as she finally released my neck and I walked downstairs where my BlackBerry had been charging (before the power went out) in the kitchen. I saw Jacob standing awkwardly still in the foyer, his eyes darting around the house, always going back to the door.

I gritted my teeth as I looked at the guy. He was like Emmett, except his hair was longer and his skin was darker. "So, you're her boyfriend?" he asked with an angered tone. Did he have a problem with her being with someone else? The woman who he gave up for that…slut I met back in Seattle?

I nodded, walking into the kitchen as I refrained from growling (something I was concentrating very hard on since I first opened the door). "And you're her ex?"

"I uh…yeah." I picked up my BlackBerry and dialed Alice's number.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Ali, it's Edward."

"_Oh! Hey, Edward. Why do you sound like you're about to tear into somebody? What? Did the pizza guy disrupt your love making with Bella?" _she asked, giggling.

"No," I muttered. "Look, you should start heading home, now."

"_Why?"_

"Charlie had a heart attack," I replied.

"_Shit. I'm on it. I'll get Jazz, you want to get Emmett?"_

"That's the idea. Do you want Rose or should Em just get her?"

"_Emmett can get her."_

"Okay."

"_Is she packing?"_

"Yeah."

"_Tell her just to get mine and Rose's make up stuff and that we'll buy clothes once we get to Phoenix."_

"Alice…I um…I don't…"

"_I'm going to guess she said it's just you and her going?"_

"Yeah."

"_Doesn't matter. We're all flying down there. Charlie is important to Rose and me too."_

"Do you want me to get you guys your tickets too?"

"_I'll reserve for us four. You just worry about getting two as quickly as possible, okay?"_

"Alright."

"_See you in forty five minutes,"_ she said as a good bye just as I heard her shut the door on her Porsche.

"Forty five." I hit end, Jacob leaning against the door jam.

I dialed Emmett next.

"_Yellow."_

"Em, it's Edward."

I pulled the phone a few feet away from my head, Emmett's booming voice coming through the speaker nearly splitting my head in two as he spoke. _"Hey bro, what up?"_

"Come home. Now. Not negotiable."

"_What'd I do this time, Mother Dearest?"_

"Cut the shit, Em. Bella's dad had a heart attack and you need to bring your fiancée home now or so help me—"

"_Chill, dude, I'm on it. I'll pick up Rose. Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars."_

"Emmett," I growled.

He laughed. _"Loosen up or you'll be in the hospital with a heart attack."_

"And it'll all be your fault."

"_Yeah, whatever. Hold on a sec, will ya?"_

"Sure…" I heard him telling someone he was leaving and wouldn't be back for a few days. He was still working at the gym even though he'd finally bought his own. It would be a while before he got his own up and running.

"_Alright. So I'm going to pick up Rosie, right?"_

"That would be right."

"_See you in fifty minutes or so?"_

"Sounds good."

"_Send my love to the Squirt, will ya?"_

"Sure. Bye."

I hit 'end' and then went onto the internet from my phone, knowing that without power, the internet line in the house was most definitely down for Bella's laptop.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Jacob asked. I forgot he was here.

"Alice and my brother."

"Why?"

"I'm sure you know why I was on the phone with Alice because I'm positive you know who she is. She's picking up my cousin and they'll be home soon. I just got off the phone with my brother who will pick up his fiancée – I would suggest you be gone before those two get here – and then the both will come back here." I got onto the Continental Airlines website, then put my phone on the counter, realizing I needed my wallet.

"Why would your cousin, your brother, and his fiancée need to be here?"

I pushed passed him. "My cousin and Alice are engaged. My brother is getting married to Rosalie. Jasper and Emmett are both very close to Bella and happen to live here too. That's why."

I shot up the stairs to my bedroom, grabbing my wallet off of the desk and putting it in the back pocket of my jeans before tossing on one of my t-shirts from my dresser. I heard a loud sob from the room across the hall, and I knew damn well that that was Bella's room. I was just to the door as another sob came, followed by the thunder outside.

I tossed open her bedroom door to see her curled up on her bed, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them tightly. I went to her side immediately, pulling her to me and cradling her against my chest as I attempted to soothe her.

"It's alright, love. Bella, please, don't cry."

I saw her cell phone on the bed beside her and wondered if she was crying because she'd spoken to her mom. Like the gods had heard me, 'Mom' scrolled across the screen and I realized the phone was on silent.

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Hi. I'm sorry, who is this?"_ a woman asked, presumably Bella's mother.

"Edward Cullen, you must be Bella's mother." _Or that's what the phone tells me._

"_Yes. May I ask why you're answering my daughter's phone?"_ Did Bella not tell her about me? Another sob escaped Bella's lips as she clung to my t-shirt. I could feel her hot tears soaking into the material where her face was pressed against my chest.

"She's a little indisposed at the moment." I clutched Bella tighter in the hopes to calm her.

"_I've been trying to get a hold of her all morning. Is that her I hear?"_

"Yes, that's Bella…_Jacob_ just arrived not long ago and gave us the news about Charlie. She was packing as I was making flight reservations."

"_I already got her ticket."_

I chuckled. "I'm sure you know Bella just as well as I do. The girl is stubborn and refuses to let others pay for anything for her."

I heard Renee laugh sadly. _"She used to fight me when I tried to buy her a lollipop at CVS. Her protests were always laughable."_

"She was just about to call you…well, before she became a little too upset—" Bella sobbed again as if to back up my statement "—to ask you to cancel the tickets you paid for so that we could pay for our own."

"_Oh,"_ Renee replied in surprise. _"You're coming as well?"_

Oops, guess she wouldn't know that. "I am. I wouldn't leave Bella's side for a moment if I didn't have to, especially not at a time like this."

"_Are you dating my daughter?"_ she asked suddenly.

I looked at Bella who obviously couldn't hear anything other than my side of the conversation, but was looking up at me as she sniffled and blinked, tears still gliding heavily into my t-shirt. Clearly, she'd heard my last statement. "Yes, I am."

"_Do you love my daughter?"_

"With all my heart," I replied without hesitation.

"_Good. I can't wait to meet you."_ In that second, it dawned on me that I'd actually be meeting Bella's parents now for the first time. Shit. I took a deep breath. Of all times, now was not a time to be nervous over meeting her parents. Bella was in far worse shape at the moment. Her dad had just suffered a heart attack for Chrissakes!

"It will certainly be a pleasure."

My hand went to Bella's hair, stroking down the brown strands in a comforting motion. _"Please, go calm my daughter down, Edward. I'll cancel the flight plans."_

"Thank you, Missus…um…" shoot! I forgot what her last name was! Her parents were divorced! Dammit. Not Missus Swan. God. What was it? Missus…Missus…

"_Dwyer. Missus Dwyer. But please, call me Renee. Goodbye now."_

"Goodbye, Renee."

I hung up Bella's cell phone and realized she'd at least managed to dress herself and start packing. I picked her up like I had earlier to carry her up here and carried her down the stairs to the kitchen, pushing passed Jacob again and just barely managing to grab my BlackBerry off the counter as I grasped blindly for it.

Bella hugged my neck tightly as she continued to cry. Her wet, salty tears were slipping down the skin of my throat now as I cradled her, walking to the living room and sitting down, setting her in my lap.

I worked my BlackBerry masterfully as I pulled up the internet, realizing I had to get the tickets quickly because my batteries were dying.

I reserved first class tickets – nothing less for my Bella – and I would also be able to truthfully justify it to her by telling her it was the only two seats available beside each other. With that done, knowing we had to get going to Port Angeles soon in order to catch one of the smaller planes out to Seattle soon, I tried to ignore an uncomfortable Jacob whose eyes were prying into mine and Bella's business.

"Love, we need to go and pack," I told her softly, but she shook her head against my neck.

"No…toiletries and something for…for tomorrow. We…we can b-buy when we… when we get there," she whispered, hiccupping breaking apart her words.

"Okay. Let's go get that done and then we'll be alright." She nodded and I placed a kiss on her forehead softly before lifting her and walking upstairs to my room, placing her on my bed and removing her hands from the vice grip they had on my t-shirt. She whimpered and was hardly soothed as I moved away, but I easily reasoned that the sooner I had this done, the sooner I'd be able to truly calm her.

Quickly throwing clean underwear, t-shirts, socks, and jeans, I was more than easily packed for a full week, despite what Bella suggested. We wouldn't be able to leave any sooner either way and I was just lifting out a pile from my drawer. Why be picky? Right, I was meeting her parents. Shit. I quickly grabbed some of my dress shirts and my Steve Maddens. I didn't know how long we'd be there, but I knew it'd at least be a few days and I had more than enough clothes. I tossed them all into the suitcases that I'd seen nothing of since I came into the house and threw my toiletries into a case along with the ones that Bella kept in my bathroom.

Then I ran across the hall to her room and grabbed some shorts and jeans, t-shirts, undergarments (I tried my best not to allow myself to become distracted at that point), sneakers, and a pair of sandals. All set there.

Once that was done, I brought it all into my room and put it into my suitcase, filling the rest of the space in the large piece of luggage.

Once it was all zippered up, I laid next to a sniffling Bella in my bed and pulled her close to me, peppering kisses on her skin as she held onto me. I knew she and Charlie were close, but not in the normal sort of way. Bella grew up with him, while her mom flaked and ran off. She spent maybe a month a year with the woman while spending the other eleven with Charlie. She also saw herself in Charlie. I'd seen pictures of the two of them. Brown hair, brown eyes, same smile, same reserved appearance. She said that she inherited her clumsy nature from him, and that the both of them tended to hold back in expressing their emotions, but loved each other unconditionally. That they both were so much alike, Bella wondered how much of her truly resembled her mother.

I had no doubt that Charlie was a wonderful man, and I'd spoken with him a few times, so I had no argument against him. And I knew it most of all because if he was anything like Bella, there was no denying that he was amazing, even if he couldn't quite shine the way my Bella did. No one could shine the way my Bella did.

I wiped the tears from her cheeks, my heart breaking as I watched Bella. I wanted to say that he was alive, that she shouldn't worry, but I knew that wasn't what had her upset. It was the realization that everyone comes to at some point in time, that I'm surprised Bella hadn't quite come to yet. The realization that your parents aren't immortal, and that at some time or another, they won't be around anymore. And even more, the realization that this point in time may be nearer than she'd ever expected.

Running my fingers through her deep brown hair, I smiled softly at her. Her eyes glistened with the tears that skimmed along her cheeks and the sadness that belonged to a little girl, but she smiled back just as softly, almost in a way that reassured me she'd be just fine, that she loved me with everything she had, and that she wanted me with her to comfort her for now.

"I love—"

"LET ME AT HIM!"

**ALICE'S POV**

Edward was taking such perfect control of the situation. When I got the call from him, all I could think was _good boy _as I rushed to get my things finished at the office and wrote a note to my secretary saying that I wouldn't be in for a few days. Charlie meant a lot to Rose and me. We talked to him often in the past few years since things had begun to fall apart between Jacob and Bella, and even more so after the break up.

I'd rushed into my car, pulled Jasper from his office the second his session ended, and sped home like the little speed demon I am. We pulled into the drive way just seconds before Emmett and Rosalie pulled their cars in.

"Rose, you go get you and Emmett packed, I'll get Jasper and I. Jazzy, you go check in on Edward and Bella. You might be a lot of help to Bella, considering how good you are with all that psychology stuff, and once she's settled down enough, Emmett, I want you to get a smile on her face."

"You mean I get to make a funny?" Emmett asked excitedly.

I giggled and nodded. "Yes, Em, make a funny for Bella, okay? But try and be sensitive. No jokes about her and Edward having sex, or anything really having to do with family in that way. Make some wisecracks about any of us, about yours and Rose's sex life, if that floats your boat—" we all knew Emmett loved talking about his sex life "—but watch what you say because if she is anymore upset, it will not bode well."

"How long should we pack for?" Rose asked.

"Just three or four days. Anything longer than that and we can either do laundry or go shopping. I think we'll go shopping, if only to get Bella out and about for a day."

"She won't like that."

"She'll suck it up and come anyway."

"I need my cell phone to make plans for us," Rose said. "What hotel do you want to stay in?"

"I don't know. Take your pick, any price, doesn't matter. Get a room for Edward and Bella, too. I don't know if they'll want to stay in Charlie's apartment. I think sleeping in her father's bed with Edward would bother her, but she wouldn't want to sleep without him either. She'd get nightmares."

"So no girl's nights then?"

"We might do a sleepover in one of the suites, but it'd be all six of us."

"Okay. Maybe we should just get a three bedroom suite? That way we'll be right there if she needs us," Emmett suggested.

"Now he chooses to be brilliant," Jasper commented, causing us all to laugh.

I was just about to head into the house when I saw a strange car in the driveway. Pointing to it, I turned to look at Rose. "Whose car is that?"

She looked and tapped her chin in thought. "I don't know. Someone rebuilt it, though. It's a VW Rabbit. Pretty old car, but whoever restored it did well. Could use a new paint job, though."

"But that would mean someone else is here…" I trailed off.

"Maybe it's Angela? Or Tyler? Or…maybe…I don't know. It would be logical if it were Angela's. Maybe she called Ange for support. Her parents live in town, after all, and she may have been in town and came over," Rose guessed, but she looked weary.

I shrugged. "Won't know until we find out." I walked up the front porch, Jasper, Emmett, and Rose right on my heels, literally. "Dammit, Emmett, you stepped on the back of my foot," I growled, righting my shoe before opening the door. I was not happy with what I saw there, nor was Rose.

"What do you want, dog?" Rosalie hissed.

"I don't want anything, Blondie," he replied flippantly. He and Rose didn't get along particularly well in the past.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to keep anger out of my tone. I hadn't liked Jacob much either once I saw the result of his and Bella's break up.

"I was telling Bella about Charlie, that's what." He hated us for not letting him see Bella over the years. We couldn't, though, because whenever she even bumped into him and said hello, she'd be in tears for hours.

"Congratulations, you did that over an hour ago. Why are you still here?"

"Because I wanted to be sure Bella was okay until her so called friends got here."

"_So called_ _friends?_"

"You weren't here for her, yet Renee called Flower over there hundreds of times. I'm struggling to see where that makes you good friends," he replied pointedly. I narrowed my eyes at him as I began to lunge, but was caught by Jasper as Emmett held Rosalie back. "Oh, and let's not forget the boyfriends who you were laughing with outside while your _friend _is upstairs crying with her fuck buddy." He spat the word. What the hell was his damage?

"LET ME AT HIM!" I shouted at Jasper as he released me willingly. I was pretty sure he didn't like anyone talking about Bella or Edward that way. Family stands up for family.

Next thing I knew, Rose and I had Jacob pinned to the ground, one of Rosalie's stilettos sliding along the floor and my hair clips no longer in place. "Call me Flower one more time," Rosalie growled in his face, daring him to say anything.

"Get off of me, you fucking Golden Retriever. Go on, fetch your high heels," he hissed.

"Get out of my house, mutt," I barked.

"Get off of me, Chihuahua."

"Emmett!" Rose called, just as I called, "Jasper!"

"Yeah, fucking heel, lap dogs."

Three seconds later, his ass was on our front porch and our door was locked. "Now that we've taken out the garbage, we've got business to attend to," I said, wiping my hands on my thighs just as I heard a hysterical giggle coming from the steps.

Bella and Edward were standing at the top of the steps. I wondered if they'd seen the whole thing. It didn't matter, honestly, considering Bella was just laughing. Edward was looking at her lovingly, but like she was a little crazy. Probably, because she still had fresh tears on her cheeks that must have fallen just before our little run in with Jacob.

"I never liked the pooch," Rosalie muttered.

**BELLA'S POV**

I couldn't lose Charlie. Not now, not ever. Sure, I knew someday he'd be gone, but by then I was supposed to be getting old with grey hair, just like him. He was only nineteen when he and Renee had me. He could die at 100 – granted, with his eating habits that wouldn't happen – and I'd be eighty-one! I'd have my own children…my own grandchildren…at that point. I'd be ready then. I had forty, fifty, – and if Charlie ate more vegetables and less takeout – maybe even sixty years to prepare myself for losing my father. But right now, I was undeniably unprepared and when Edward had left me alone in my room, it was then that it hit me how close I could have been to being without a father.

Edward did his best to calm my ragged crying, and for the most part, it worked. When I was truly, honestly upset, everything could have been so much worse. Alice and Rosalie were two of the four total people who had seen me going so far off the tracks in tears. The other two were Renee and Charlie, and thinking about that fact hardly helped me.

"LET ME AT HIM!" my best friend's familiar voice screamed.

I heard a thump and Edward and I lurched from his bed and down the hall to the stairs, tears blurring my view and causing me to trip. Thankfully, Edward caught me and held me, the both of us walking a little more cautiously to the top of the staircase to see Alice and Rosalie tackling a smack talking Jacob.

"Call me Flower one more time."

"Get off of me, you fucking Golden Retriever. Go on, fetch your high heels."

"Get out of my house, mutt."

"Get off of me, Chihuahua."

"Emmett!"

"Jasper!"

"Yeah, fucking heel, lap dogs."

I watched as Alice and Rose stood up and Jasper and Emmett lifted Jacob's large form from the floor. They tossed – and I do mean literally tossed – Jacob out onto the front porch and locked the door. Alice wiped her hands of the whole ordeal. "Now that we've taken out the garbage, we've got business to attend to."

I just couldn't help but laugh at the entire scene. I really, I just couldn't. Honestly. It was like in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when they kick Jas out of the house every time. They actually just physically tossed him on his ass on the front porch.

And then Rosalie just made it even better. "I never liked the pooch." I just couldn't stop. I needed to laugh. Desperately. And this was…wow, even Emmett couldn't construct something this funny spontaneously from the deep depths of his comedic mind.

"Have I…mentioned I love…you guys?" I gasped.

"Once or twice, maybe," Alice replied, grinning.

I shook my head, ridding myself of my small case of the giggles and gripped onto Edward, the events of the day rushing back in a much less horrific impact than the one I'd received earlier in my bedroom that sent me into my whole spiel.

I took a deep breath and turned around to go back to Edward's room, ready to wait out the final hours before we left for Phoenix…whenever the hell our flight even left.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Mom," I sighed as I held onto the woman tightly. My face was pressed into her shoulder as I refused to let go, much like I refused to release Edward's hand as it remained awkwardly in mine as I hugged Renee.

"It's been a while, Bella," she said to me, holding me loosely. The way she hugged me whenever she first saw me for our month in the summers. Not the way a mother hugged her daughter, to say hello or to comfort, but the way a friend hugged a friend goodbye for a few weeks when they were just close enough for that to seem comfortable.

"I missed you, too, Mom," I replied, finally pulling back with a heavy sigh, knowing that was about as much as I would pull from her maternal side – that nonexistent side of her that I still hoped I'd find someday, but was quickly giving up on the long search because the map I had was leading me nowhere soon.

Edward pulled me close to him and I could feel the nerves radiating off of him. Why would he be…oh. Oh. OH! "Mom, this is my boyfriend, Doctor Edward Cullen," I introduced them. I grinned. I hadn't really honestly gotten to formally introduce him to anyone, and never once as Doctor Edward Cullen. I liked the way it sounded.

They stood looking at each other, Edward putting up his usual charming appearance – figures he can do so with ease, despite the nerves that would have had me flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water before his parents had I not met them before we had such a relationship – while Renee looked a little surprised. She'd spoken to him, why was she surprised? She also looked a little flustered, and that I could easily understand.

"Hello Missus Dwyer. It's a shame the circumstances under which we meet, but I'm glad nonetheless," Edward spoke, beginning to reach out with his right hand, only to realize that it was the hand I kept in my death grip and then extended his left hand, awkwardly, toward my mother. She looked at it blankly before copying the motion and shaking his hand.

"I see my daughter has finally found someone. I was beginning to think she'd given up on men forever," Renee replied. Edward chuckled, but I blushed.

_Open mouth, insert foot, Mother._

"Oh, don't worry Bella's Mom, Edward isn't a man," Emmett interjected, causing me to blush even darker at the implication as I laughed and Edward chuckled, shaking his head at his brother. They had all managed to catch a flight twenty minutes before mine and Edward's on another airline, though they ended up with a forty five minute delay thanks to the storm.

Renee looked worried and I guessed she'd taken Emmett seriously, so I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry Mom, Emmett's joking. He tends to do that…a lot. Actually, I don't recall the last time he actually said something legitimate."

"Got them," Alice piped up, suddenly materializing in front of me. "Six key cards to our suite."

"Thanks, Alice." She handed each of us a card as my mother just looked at Edward and I closely.

"Bella, will you be…"

I rolled my eyes. She was really one to start asking me if I was sleeping in the same bed as Edward. She'd never been a terrible mother – caretaker, yes, mother, no…well, she'd never done anything wrong – but when I had stayed during the summers, she most certainly had not been a woman of celibacy. Men had stayed the night with her and some mornings I'd wake up to some guy in our kitchen in a t-shirt and boxers bringing two mugs of coffee to her bedroom. And even worse, the walls in her apartments were thinner than cardboard. At least she wasn't a screamer like me. Ew. _Who wants to think of their mom's noise level during sex? Who wants to even think of the words 'mom' and 'sex' in the same sentence? Gah!_

"Yes, Mother. Edward and I will be sharing a room. That is alright, isn't I? I'm an adult, am I not?"

"I…"

I took another deep breath and shook my head, dismissing the conversation that wasn't going to lead anywhere. It was after midnight, visiting hours were up, Charlie was most definitely asleep, and I was nearly there. "Edward, let's go to bed now. I'm dead on my feet."

"Whatever you want, Love," Edward replied, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Aw, aren't they so cute?" I heard Rose whisper loudly behind me.

"So cute they make me want to puke," Emmett responded.

"It could be worse, they could be like you two," Jasper countered.

"I don't see anything wrong with us?"

"You two fuck more than bunnies. You're just lucky you haven't produced any offspring yet."

"You say that as if Edward and Bella don't—"

"Emmett," I cut him off. "I think it's time for _all of us _to go to bed. Good night, Mom."

Renee still seemed wary. _We are actually going to sleep, Mom! _I wanted to scream, but knew I couldn't. Dammit.

"I love you, Mom," I told her with finality, knowing she would more than likely wish to talk to me in the morning.

"I love you too, Bella."

"Emmett, you are so going to pay for that last comment," I muttered in his direction. My revenge on Emmett would be a nice distraction, knowing that while I was so tired I could barely stay awake, I was too worried to fall asleep. I was desperate to see my dad, but I still had hours and hours before the hospital would allow me to check in on him.

"Let's go, love. You've had a rough day."

We walked into the elevator and the doors slid closed. I leaned into Edward, knowing that since he'd come into my life, all it'd done was what the elevator was doing right now. It'd gone up. Everything went from good to great to spectacular, and that in retrospect, the circumstances under which I returned to my hometown were only a blip on the radar.


	22. Nothing Ever Stays The Same

**_Ha ha Yes! On Time! Okay, so I've really gotten serious and down to business here. Unfortunately, there will be no dedication this time mainly because it's midnight and I don't want to go and get my flashdrive to go through all my reviews. As you all know, the story is winding down and I'm still working on what i'll be writing next. If you guys have an idea, let me know, and I'll try it out. I've got plenty of ideas and I've started writing all of them, but, well, haven't exactly settled on anything yet..._**

**_So, I kind of cried a number of times while writing this chapter, so i'll warn you that some of them may or may not make you get a little bleary eyed._**

**_I want to thank all of you for your reviews. Unfortunately, i've strayed from answering all of your reviews. I've 28 beautiful reviews in my inbox left untouched. Again, sorry, but no lemons. There's some humor in here, but a lot of it really is serious. Any comments you have i'd love to hear. Sincerely, Jordi Brooke._**

**BELLA'S POV**

I laid in Edward's safe embrace, enjoying his facial features illuminated purely by the Phoenix moon. It wasn't often I saw his profile like this, the gentle light that was so often blocked by the constant cloud coverage of Forks dancing across the skin of his peaceful face. I smile, bringing my fingers up to touch the soft flesh of his cheeks. Carefully, I slid them to his nose, drawing them along the length of it before moving to trace his lips. They parted beneath my touch and for a moment I feared I'd woken him, but his rhythmic breathing never altered, so I continued. The pads of my fingers brushed over his eyelids, the long lashes tickling me. I smoothed the small wrinkle in his forehead, the only thing that told me there was something worrisome on his mind. My fingers found their way into his messy hair, pushing it back from his forehead and twisting it around my fingers. His lips closed again and I could see the small smile that formed upon them. I smiled in return, wishing he could understand just how much the little things about him made me love him so much, like how he'd smile simply because of my touch.

I heard small feet at my door, then my door opening. I turned and saw little Alice standing with a dim amount of light shed by a lamp in the living room illuminating her silhouette in the doorway.

"Hey Ali," I whispered, causing her to jump. I guess she thought I was still asleep.

"Hey Bella, I didn't mean to wake you."

I smiled fondly at her. I knew she'd only been coming in to check on me. I was thankful she cared like that. Months ago, I probably would have told her just to go to her room, but now, it was just nice to know I had people around me who cared enough to check if I was alright. I really loved her. I sat up, and swung my legs over the side of the bed, straining against Edward's tightening grip around my waist to pull myself free and off the bed. When he finally released me, I nearly fell straight to the floor. Alice giggled as I stumbled. I stuck my tongue out at her and she did so in return. "You didn't wake me," I finally replied. "I'd been awake."

She nodded and we both walked to the couch, sitting down and pulling our legs up under us. It was a little chilly. Emmett shouldn't have turned the AC so high. Alice and I both shivered at the same time, causing us to laugh. I grabbed the throw blanket off of the sofa and the both of us huddled together in the middle. I leaned my head back once we were wrapped up and Alice's small head fell on my shoulder.

"Nothing's really the same anymore," Alice said suddenly.

I looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Everything's done some crazy spinning around in the past few months. I mean, I guess it all kind of started when Jazz and I got engaged. I wasn't around with you and Rose so much once that happened, working at crazy speeds with the increasing number of clients at work while I started plotting my wedding. You know, back before that happened, you, Rose, and I would be sitting wrapped up together in a blanket every night watching TV and chatting while we waited for Jasper to get home and Emmett to get all the gym-stink off of him in the shower. But since then, I don't think we'd spent _one _night like this.

"And then Emmett and Rosalie started getting more and more serious and a lot less playful, really growing up and spending all their free time together, and it was just that much harder for all of us to spend some girl time just the three of us. Edward came around soon after, and you were finding your own guy to have with what I with Jasper and Rose has with Em. The minutes for all of us were decreasing rapidly, and none of us realized it because we were somehow happy despite it all.

"God, we lived in the same house and look at how quickly we're drifting apart. What happens in a few years from now when we all start moving into our own houses?"

My eyebrows furrowed, taking in everything she was saying. I looked back on the past months, wondering if it was true. I couldn't help the gasp as I realized it was true, that our long friendship was slowly drifting off in separate ways in the vast ocean of the world. Alice had been busy with work, trying to set up the new branch for Esme's interior designing, planning her wedding, and being committed to Jasper. Rosalie was focused on designing her own car, improving those at BMW, loving Emmett, planning her wedding, and helping out with the work needed to be done on Emmett's gym. And me? I may have been home almost all the time, but I was always busy writing or cuddling with Edward. I was spending almost every weekend driving down to Seattle to work editing with Tyler and missing out on the days with my friends. Not to mention every other thing I've been doing in my career. We'd hardly spent much time with each other at all for anything other than breakfast and dinner, if we even did that at all.

We weren't like Emmett, Edward, and Jasper. Blood didn't tie us together. We weren't family, and we would always have to be together by choice, have to make the decision to see each other. Sure, we may have considered ourselves sisters, but we weren't really, and ever so slowly we were shifting further and further away. What had once been a sisterly bond was truly becoming just a friendship, and I was even wondering if that was slipping away to becoming nothing more than roommates. Would that even last?

"Bella, I can't lose you. I can't lose Rose. I can't lose _us._"

I shook my head at her. "It won't happen. I won't let it."

"But Bells…"

"Alice, you and Rose have helped me for years. It's my turn to step up and help you two. We will always be together."

Her eyes suddenly lit up and she giggled. "We're all going to marry into the same family."

I shook my head. "Yeah, you and Rose will. I won't." Marriage undoubtedly sounded wonderful to me as far as Edward went. I couldn't help the small smile that grew at the thought. Three months ago, had you asked me if I would ever marry, I would have told you there wasn't a chance because I wouldn't entrust my heart to anyone that way, that there was nothing left of it. Today, I could almost see it happening. Almost.

"You will too, Bella. I know you will. You and Edward are perfect together."

"I would marry him, Ali, I won't deny you that. But we've never even talked about it. Hell, we haven't talked about what will happen between us when he starts his residency. I wouldn't know if he'd want to stay with me come September. Sure, supposedly he's staying with us in Forks, but maybe he'll decide to move to Port Angeles to be near the hospital." My smile fell at that thought. I'd never really given this much thought.

"Bella, Edward loves you."

"I still don't understand why."

"Because you're strong, beautiful, independent, confident, intelligent, wonderful, amazing, caring, loving, and real. You're the kind of woman that most men are afraid to be with because they can't handle that, but Edward isn't afraid, because he loves you with everything he's got. You two are the definition of soul mate."

"I know," I whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without him. I swear, before he came around, I thought I had everything I ever needed. A prosperous job, friends, family, a home, money, and there was nothing I wanted for. And then the second he stepped through the door, I knew that my life only _seemed _perfect to me. The second I saw him, I knew I was missing an entire half of my own self. It was crazy, but I knew exactly what Jacob had told me about as far as the way he felt for Lauren. I couldn't ever feel that way about anyone else, couldn't possibly ever be with anyone else, now that I've found Edward, but I just can't imagine he'd feel the same way for me."

"Bella, if I had told you back when you and Jacob separated that you would someday find someone who felt exactly for you as you felt for them, would you have believed me?"

I shook my head. "Of course not. I was too upset."

"Would you believe me if I told you that now?"

I looked off at the far wall. Could Edward possibly feel like this? Feel that if I were torn away from him, he'd live only to see the colors fade from the world and a fog surround him for eternity? "Maybe?"

"Bella, you know Edward looks at you the same way you look at him. You see it just as clearly as any one else does. How could you deny that he feels the same?"

"I…"

"You can't. Edward loves you the way you love him." Then she sighed. "When we do move out of the house in Forks, when we go our separate ways or stay together, when things change for better or for worse between all of us, promise me something Bella."

"Anything, Ali."

"Promise me that you'll never doubt that it's written in the stars for you and Edward to be together, just like Jazz and me, just like Emmett and Rose, and even the same way that Carlisle and Esme are. Forever in love, and destined to be so."

I smiled and hugged the girl I would always consider to be my best friend. "I promise, Ali."

**EDWARD'S POV**

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, stretching my arms above my head as I yawned. The bed felt empty, though. Too empty. I reached out to my side where Bella usually slept, just barely able to see my hand in the darkness of the room at the ungodly early hour of three AM, only to find it was, in fact, empty. I sat up instantly and tossed the covers off of my body, throwing on a t-shirt as I walked toward the door.

I could just barely hear the quiet whispers out in the living room.

"Alice, you and Rose have helped me for years. It's my turn to step up and help you two. We will always be together." Bella's voice floated softly through my close door, and I began to wonder what they were talking about. Were one of the girls leaving?

I heard a small giggle. "We're all going to marry into the same family," Alice said giddily. I smiled. Never thought about that.

"Yeah, you and Rose will. I won't." What did she mean by 'I won't'? Did she not want to get married? It sounded wonderful to me. My smile grew as I truthfully imagined spending the rest of my life with Bella, devoted to her and only the one beautiful goddess that she was.

"You will too, Bella. I know you will. You and Edward are perfect together." I couldn't have agreed more.

"I would marry him, Ali, I won't deny you that." Music to my ears. "But we've never even talked about it. Hell, we haven't talked about what will happen between us when he starts his residency." Hadn't we? No, I guessed we hadn't. "I wouldn't know if he'd want to stay with me come September. Sure, supposedly he's staying with us in Forks, but maybe he'll decide to move to Port Angeles to be near the hospital." That wouldn't happen. I couldn't possibly spend a whole day away from her. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull 36 hour shifts at the hospital,

"Bella, Edward loves you." Clearly. Thank you Alice for pointing that out to her.

"I still don't understand why." How could she not?

"Because you're strong, beautiful, independent, confident, intelligent, wonderful, amazing, caring, loving, and real. You're the kind of woman that most men are afraid to be with because they can't handle that, but Edward isn't afraid, because he loves you with everything he's got. You two are the definition of soul mate." Yes. Completely, absolutely, one hundred percent, entirely true. Even a blind man could see that.

"I know. I don't know what I'd do without him. I swear, before he came around, I thought I had everything I ever needed. A prosperous job, friends, family, a home, money, and there was nothing I wanted for. And then the second he stepped through the door, I knew that my life only _seemed _perfect to me. The second I saw him, I knew I was missing an entire half of my own self. It was crazy, but I knew exactly what Jacob had told me about as far as the way he felt for Lauren. I couldn't ever feel that way about anyone else, couldn't possibly ever be with anyone else, now that I've found Edward, but I just can't imagine he'd feel the same way for me." I had been grinning madly for almost the entire thing, at least until she said she couldn't imagine I felt that way for her. Did I not state that often enough? Did I really need to point out the obvious even more?

"Bella, if I had told you back when you and Jacob separated that you would someday find someone who felt exactly for you as you felt for them, would you have believed me?"

"Of course not. I was too upset." My poor Bella.

"Would you believe me if I told you that now?" Please say yes, that you believe I could.

"Maybe?"

"Bella, you know Edward looks at you the same way you look at him. You see it just as clearly as any one else does. How could you deny that he feels the same?" Yes, how?

"I…"

"You can't." Love you, Alice. "Edward loves you the way you love him." Then she sighed. "When we do move out of the house in Forks, when we go our separate ways or stay together, when things change for better or for worse between all of us, promise me something Bella." What did she want Bella to promise? And what was all this talk about change? Was Alice moving out? Why hadn't Jasper mentioned this?

"Anything, Ali."

"Promise me that you'll never doubt that it's written in the stars for you and Edward to be together, just like Jazz and me, just like Emmett and Rose, and even the same way that Carlisle and Esme are. Forever in love, and destined to be so." Please promise her this. Please, please, please promise her that. I swore it was true. I wouldn't doubt that we were meant for each other. Too many things about us proved it to be true.

"I promise, Ali."

I didn't know what it was that shifted when she said those words, but I swore something was just different, and ideas started forming in my head. I couldn't deny that they belonged there nor could I say I wasn't ready to think them, but it surprised me nonetheless, the whirlwind that swept through my brain.

With a smile on my face, I turned from the door to allow Alice and Bella the privacy that I should have given them from the start and lay back in bed, letting thoughts spin through my mind in a tornado as I stared up at the ceiling, drifting to sleep happily when I finally managed to settle down.

**BELLA'S POV**

"Stupid sofa…Stupid crick in my neck…Stupid morning," I grumbled, rubbing the back of my neck as I walked into the kitchenette in the large, three bedroom sweet we had. Of course, there was no food in there, but there was a nice little coffee maker. I quickly poured water into the machine and used one of the coffee filters, filling it with the Maxwell House ground coffee beans. Not too long later, the aroma blocked out all my other senses and I only had to wait a few more seconds before I could steal the pot out of the machine and pour myself a perfect mug. There were little creamers in the fridge that I used grateful and I had to focus intensely not to chug back the whole steaming cup in order to make my morning relatively tolerable.

With the first sip, everything sort of hit me for what must have been the eighteenth time within under 24 hours. I was in Phoenix because my dad had a heart attack yesterday morning and while he may have lived, he certainly wasn't alright. Shit.

Last night, Alice had successfully distracted me long enough for me to conk out. Unfortunately, I conked out on the sofa with her tiny body leaning against mine, causing me to sleep in an even more uncomfortable position. I would have preferred sleep deprivation to this pain.

"Good morning," I heard from behind me and turned to see Emmett walking toward me in his Spongebob boxers. See? Why couldn't Alice have done something like _that_ to distract me instead of serious conversation that resulted in me sleeping on the couch.

I spit my coffee back into my mug, sputtering as I giggled. "Em?"

"Yea?" he asked, confused.

"N-n-nice…shorts!" I chortled, dropping my half full mug onto the counter and gripping the edge for support. Really, I should have been used to that by now, but it was always just too funny for me.

I looked up to watch him look down and then he looked back up at me, grinning. "Rosie has a thong to match."

"Do not!" I heard Rosalie call, but by the tenor of her voice, I could tell she was lying, which only caused me to giggle harder.

"Put some clothes on Emmett," Edward muttered as he walked passed him and into the kitchenette.

"Bella likes them," he shot back.

"She'd like them better on Edward," Jasper replied, standing beside Emmett and blocking the doorway.

"Actually, she'd like nothing on Edward better than anything else," Alice chimed, crawling into the kitchenette through Jasper's legs. I blushed, but couldn't contradict her.

Edward, however, was grinning with smug pride. "That's because I look so damn good in nothing," he joked.

"No, it's because it's the only way Bella can see any evidence of your microscopic—" _Thwap! _"Rosie!"

"That's for the thong comment," she replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Foreplay," Alice, Jasper, Edward, and I all groaned in unison.

Rosalie laughed. "Good morning to you all too."

"Good morning, Rosie," Emmett greeted happily. She turned and glared at him again.

"Go put your clothes on, mister," she replied.

"Aw, come on Rosie. I don't like being called mister. You know I like it more when you call me—"

"Now," she cut him off, pointing toward their bedroom.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, turning and walking out of the room, Patrick Star on each ass cheek of his boxers.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I stood nervously at the door, waiting for the nurse to finish with Charlie. I didn't even realize I was wringing my hands until Edward grabbed them in his own, holding them and warning me, "You'll ruin the soft skin on your beautiful hands if you continue."

I sighed. It was one of my two nervous habits. My other, as Edward had pointed out to me a month ago, was biting my lip. He claimed it was sexy as hell but that I wasn't allowed to do it in public because he didn't want to be arrested for public indecency. Edward, of course, had his own habits that drove me mad. He pinched the bridge of his nose, though that only bothered me because I swore that one of these days he would squeeze so hard that he'd break the beautiful feature. And he ran his hands through his hair…which was my job.

He leaned down and pressed a gentle, very distracting kiss on my lips. See? Now had we been doing stuff such as that, I certainly wouldn't have been thinking of my father all last night. At least, I hope I wouldn't have been. Plus, I wouldn't have been sleeping on the couch with Alice. At least, I also hoped that wouldn't have happened. My mind began to do a very good job of distracting itself as it conjured strange images of Alice, Edward, and I in a threesome. I shuddered as I was both slightly repulsed (because I just wasn't into that sort of thing) and slightly angered (the thought of sharing Edward in any way with another woman was not a welcome one).

"Calm down, love," he whispered in my ear, hugging me tightly to his chest. I sighed and allowed him to comfort me in what seemed the only way he was able. I knew he was desperate for there to be another way he could, but I always told him the only thing I ever need was his touch and I'd be alright. He claimed it couldn't be true, but did as I asked nevertheless.

I pressed a kiss into his clothed chest just as I heard the door to Charlie's room open and a small woman about my age step out. She looked at Edward dazedly and I cleared my throat. "Are you finished in there?" I asked. What I really wanted to say was, _quit ogling my boyfriend, ho, and go do your job._

She looked at me, blinked twice, and then shook her head furiously to clear what only be an Edward induced fog. _Yeah, I know the feeling. _"I…uh…yeah. Go on ahead."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in there, _love_?" he asked. I smirked. He had kept saying how he didn't want to come in earlier because he knew it would be a lot of stress on my father to meet him within 24 hours of his heart attack, but clearly he had changed his mind. If I were cruel, I would make him stay out here, but considering I really needed his support and wanted him with me, I wasn't going to be like that.

I sighed over dramatically. "Edward, I thought you'd _never _ask. Thank you, baby. I'd love it if you'd come with me."

We closed the door behind us and Edward remained there while I walked in and sat down beside my father's bed. He looked really pale and tired.

"Bells-y," he sang. Great, he's shot full of morphine. (a/n: okay, so my grandpa had a heart attack and has been in and out of the hospital with all sorts of clots and whatnot now. But for the first few days afterward, he was shot full of drugs so much that he could barely speak a proper sentence and it was all mumbly.)

"Hey, Daddy," I replied softly.

"Hey, Bells, guess what?" he asked conspiratorially, crooking a finger in a twitchy sort of way asking me to come nearer.

I leaned nearer and out of my chair. "What is it?" I asked.

He moved so he could whisper in my ear, cupping his hands around his mouth the way kids would do in grade school as they shared secrets with each other. "I got lots of ceutapharmical cedimations in me," he replied, giggling.

"You mean pharmaceutical medications?" I asked. He nodded, still giggling groggily. _God, my father's high!_

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Belly Bells?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Who's the _duuuuude _by the door?"

"Daddy, that's—"

"I'm Doctor Cullen, sir," Edward interjected, walking forward and picking up Charlie's chart.

"Oh, okay."

Edward chuckled and moved to sit next to me, flipping through it to read all sorts of things. He leaned into my ear so that his lips were against the shell and I shivered as he whispered, not that what he said was sexy, purely amusing. "Your dad is really funny when he's doped up on morphine. Although, I think they overdid it just a smigde."

"Hey, doc, cut that out. My baby girl's got a boy back home and she really likes him," Charlie ordered in a not so authoritative voice. He sounded like he was going to fall asleep.

Just at that time, another man, one who was maybe twenty years older than Charlie, walked in wearing a lab coat with pens in the pocket, khaki pants, black Crocs, a blue dress shirt, a dorky red bowtie, and big round glasses. His gray hair was combed perfectly and he looked like a total geek. I held back a laugh.

"You must be Mister Swan's daughter," he said. "I'm Doctor Suburb, your father's doctor."

"Hey, doc, I got another doc now," my dad said and Doctor Suburb looked confused until he saw Edward holding the chart.

"I'm sorry," Edward replied, handing it to Doctor Suburb and standing so that he could talk quietly. I turned on the TV which was already on ESPN to distract my father as I listened to Edward explaining to Doctor Suburb. "I'm Doctor Edward Cullen, his daughter's boyfriend. Of course, I didn't feel it proper to stress Mister Swan any more than necessary while he's in such a condition."

Doctor Suburb looked momentarily stunned. "Cullen? Like Carlisle Cullen?"

Edward chuckled. "Carlisle's my father, yes."

Doctor Suburb suddenly appeared as though he'd won the jackpot. "I've study Doctor Cullen's work for years. I've always been impressed with his astounding abilities. He's well known in the medical field. My boy, this is so exciting."

Edward shushed him and nodded toward a very doped up Charlie. "Wouldn't want to bother the patient, would we?"

"No, no, no. Of course not. But, oh my. This is truly incredible. Have you had the chance to work with him? Have you assisted him in surgery?"

Edward chuckled again. "I've overseen a lot and I've done a lot of work around the hospital back in Chicago. I just graduated medical school, and while Carlisle is always willing to do whatever it takes to teach me new things, he'd also never risk one of his patient's lives or wellbeing to allow me a chance with the scalpel."

"Oh, of course, of course. Have you—"

Edward cut him off. "You can talk to him when he gets here, sir."

My eyes were probably about as wide as Doctor Suburb's. "Your father is coming?" we both asked at the same time as I shot out of my seat.

Edward shrugged. "Of course. Honestly, did you think my father wouldn't want to oversee the care of the father of the woman I love?" he asked me like it was obvious.

"I—"

"Splendid, splendid. Oh this is so exciting!"

"Shhh," Edward and I both hissed toward him.

"Edward, I can't believe you—"

He put his finger over my lips to stop me. "Hush, now. I told him that you would be very upset he took the time off unnecessarily and spent money, again unnecessarily, to come down here, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. Love, please just let him do this. You and I may be stubborn, but as far as my father goes, well, I'm not even a forth of what he is."

I groaned, but smiled anyway. "I love your parents," I giggled.

He smiled crookedly at me. "Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"Because they gave me you," I whispered and after snatching a quick look to see Charlie snoring and completely knocked out, I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

I heard someone clear there throat and looked to see Doctor Annoying standing with the chart, trying to distract himself from our display of affection.

"While you're looking over that, you should lower his dosage of morphine. Oh, and the beta blockers you've put him on are ancient. They aren't nearly as effective as the Metoprolol Succinate."

"Right away, Doctor Cullen," Doctor Annoying replied.

"You haven't even started with your residency and your already ordering doctors around. For shame," I teased.

Edward grinned at me and hugged me close, nuzzling my hair with his face.

"Hands off, buddy," Charlie's gruff voice called from behind us. Edward held his hands up in front of him in surrender.

"Sorry."

"Just be glad he doesn't have his gun," I muttered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Esme," I greeted, wrapping my arms around the woman who had so graciously given birth to my beautiful boyfriend, Edward, and who was also glowing with her current pregnancy. Over her shoulder I saw my mom frowning. Weird.

Just then someone tapped my back. I turned around expecting it to be Carlisle when I saw Mrs. Clearwater.

"Sue?"

"Hey Bella," she greeted, hugging me. Seth was right behind her.

"Bells," Seth boomed as he hugged me along with his mom. I laughed.

"Good to see you two again."

"Missed you, Bells. How'd you like the story?"

Seth grinned as I playfully smacked his shoulder. "I told you already, like, a hundred and fifty times. It was great, and that's the last time you'll hear it from me."

He pouted but I turned away and hugged Esme again. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay dear," she replied hugging me back.

"Thank you _so _much for coming out here. You didn't need to, honestly, but I truly appreciate it. You won't even begin to understand."

"Oh nonsense. I know exactly how it feels. The same thing happened to me when I was about your age and Carlisle's parents immediately rushed to the airport and flew out to help my father."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, then I guess you do know."

Carlisle and Edward were off in the corner, still reading Charlie's chart and talking, frowning every so often.

"How are things?" I asked all three of the people I was standing near. My mother was still off with Phil, sitting in the chairs against the wall outside my father's room frowning at Sue. Weird.

"Things are going quite well. Your father and I are spending a lot of our time together," Sue replied. She and Charlie had spent most of their time together in the past ten years since Harry, Sue's late husband, had passed.

"I'm glad he has you to spend constant time with. It was the only reason I wasn't worried when I left for college or when I decided to stay in Washington," I replied.

Seth laughed. "Well, they're certainly spending their time differently now than when they used to."

I shrugged. "And you Esme?"

"Everything's great. Carlisle is spending more time at home than at the hospital lately, so it's nice to really enjoy the extra hours with my husband alone."

I giggled when she wiggled her eyebrows. "It's amazing how in love you two still are."

"When you find true love, Bella, it'll last you an eternity."

"I really hope it will."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Doctor Annoying and Carlisle were talking endlessly. Actually, Doctor Annoying was doing the talking, Carlisle was half listening, half trying to bite his tongue. I giggled as I watched. Esme and Renee were talking almost as animatedly in the seats near Charlie's room, but the conversation was more even divided. Alice and Rose had disappeared to Charlie's apartment to pick up a few things that Charlie had asked for during his more sober moments (thank god that list didn't include his gun) and Sue had vanished sometime ago without a trace. Edward was standing with his arms wrapped around me as we talked to Seth and his girlfriend, Annie. Emmett and Jasper had run off, joking around and I was afraid of the kind of trouble those two could get into. I tried to keep myself from thinking about that.

Soon enough, Alice and Rosalie returned and so did Emmett and Jasper. Phil, who had been meandering as he was a little left out from our groups, started talking with Emmett and Jasper about baseball and, well, there was no tearing those too apart. Carlisle finally got away from Doctor Annoying when he got paged, and Esme and Renee began chattering with Alice and Rose about heaven knew what in fashion. My mother was always more feminine than I.

It was weird, having just about everyone who meant anything to you these days getting along so easily with everyone else. Wasn't there supposed to be someone who hated the others? Someone to cause a fight to break out? I sighed. I knew who that used to be. Jacob had always made trouble in every gathering. Like I'd said all those weeks ago, Seth, Jacob, and I were the three little monsters growing up, but Jacob was king of the hill as far as our group went. Neither Seth nor I tried knocking him down off of his throne.

I heard a pestering squeak and looked up to see a man in a wheel chair who I could never forget.

"Hello, Billy," I said, smiling genuinely. Despite mine and Jacob's separation, I could never feel upset toward him. He was truly upset with how things had ended between Jacob and me and wished me the best. He also disliked Lauren, and anyone who felt that way toward her was a friend of mine.

"Bella, I'm so sorry." His voice was hoarser than it used to be. He'd been smoking more. His hair was grayer and thinner and his face more wrinkled and a little sadder. His eyes weren't sparkling with the untold stories of the Chief of the reservation. His old smile wasn't touching his lips and I knew just how he felt. He was afraid of losing someone who meant so much to him, and he never thought it'd happen. Billy was older than Charlie, and he always expected to 'kick the bucket' (as he always put it) before Charlie did, despite his work as a police officer.

I was surprised as I realized that he was the only one in this room who seemed to feel about the same as I did. Renee cared, but not quite so deeply. Sue and Seth cared, but not in the same way. Alice and Rose loved Charlie, but I was sure they wouldn't feel the same loss Billy or I would, purely because they didn't have that connection with him.

"Everything will be alright," I told him automatically once I was near enough that it was only the two of us. For the first time since yesterday, I could feel the tears gracing my eyes, and I could see them glistening in Billy's short eyelashes. "Charlie wouldn't dare to leave either of us."

He grinned at me. "He always swore he'd be there to protect us."

I giggled. Charlie had long ago promised that he would always be there to protect Billy from the day that some hoodlum had broken into Billy's house and paralyzed Billy when he'd been startled. He hadn't fallen back on his promise yet.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and looked up from where I knelt before Billy's wheel chair. Placing my fragile hand over Edward's talented one (a/n: get your minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about his piano skills!), looking into his concerned green eyes. My fingers laced with his and he bent to place a gentle kiss on my hand, standing beside me and keeping me company, yet still allowing me my privacy as he looked away.

"Finally," Billy muttered and I looked up at his wicked grin. He almost seemed relieved for the distraction. I was too. I hated being emotional.

"Finally, what?" I asked teasingly, mocking annoyance and confusion.

"Finally, you found someone else. Someone who loves you and makes you happy."

I giggled. "Yes, it'll be a miracle if I get to keep him."

"Don't worry, Bells, it won't take a miracle. You've already got him."

"How do you—"

He shushed me. "I hear it in the winds."

I smiled. When Jacob, Seth, and I were young, Billy claimed that the wind spoke to him.

_It started when I was boy. My father and I were out in the woods camping, and I heard the wind rushing past my ears. The tones in it spoke to me, but back then I couldn't understand its language. I could only feel its message. Only the Chief can hear these winds, hear the words, pleas, cries, messages, feelings. And I was destined to be the Chief in those days. And one day, the wind finally spoke to me in words I could understand, but its language had never changed. I had changed, had come of age, had become the Chief. When I told my father this, he smiled at me and told me that it was time. And the winds sang to me, spoke to me, ever since that day, telling me things no one else knew, sharing the wisdom and knowledge of the world._

I never believed him before, about the winds, but I did now, solely because I wanted to. "_Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain, can you paint with all the colors of the wind?" _I sang softly, teasingly, making him laugh.

"_How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know," _he returned, seriously, and I smiled. "Don't doubt it Bells, don't let it fall away before you can see all the good of it. I promise you, it'll be worth it." I nodded, kissed his cheek, and stood, hearing him as he hummed the rest of the song.

Edward wrapped his arm around me again and smiled at me, before cringing as we heard Emmett's loud voice boom, "Whoa! Daddy's got a girlfriend!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It turned out that Sue and Charlie had been dating for…a while. I couldn't really get my dad to admit for how long, but he admitted it'd been longer than Emmett and Rosalie. I was shocked. For a while, the two of them had kept it under wraps, but three months ago went public…to everyone but me. I didn't understand why, but I was just thrilled Charlie had moved on. He'd always been so in love with my mom that knowing he was able to finally find someone he loved just as much, if not more, had me ecstatic. Not to mention she'd basically been the maternal figure in my life since I was two.

Carlisle was serious about taking over my father's care, and the hospital was more than thrilled. Edward continually complained about the 'prehistoric' resources of the hospital. I sat faithfully by my father's side whenever possible for the following three days. When Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rose left on the fourth day, I felt a little bit better about everything. I loved them, but I had felt entirely too guilty about keeping them away from their work.

Charlie was recovering slowly and I knew the words Myocardial Infarction were drilled into my head for the rest of eternity. I still couldn't help but laugh as I learned Charlie had a heart attack when Sue agreed to move in with him. Gah, I loved my dad, but could be any more emotionally retarded? You were supposed to be happy when your girlfriend said yes to something you wanted from her, not get sent to the hospital!

Of course, as the doses of morphine were lowered, I eased Charlie into meeting Edward for real. He chuckled when I told him the 'other doc' he had was actually Edward. He seemed so much happier now than the years I'd been with him. Like he was moving into a more comfortable life than before. He admitted that in the past few years, he realized what life could be and was determined to live it properly. I told him that as long he stopped shoveling junk food down his throat, I didn't care what he did. Oh, that, and as long as it made him happy.

Sue would be taking care of him, and I decided that I needed to leave. I had a meeting in Seattle, and I was sick of hearing that I was meant to be with Edward. Apparently, it was evident, so then why did everyone insist on being 'Captain Obvious'?

I was waiting in front of the hospital for Edward to come back out – he forgot his cell phone in Charlie's room…why did I doubt that was the truth? – and then we'd be going to the airport to return to the place where it was just us; Edward and me. There was no outside world, no reason to doubt that anything could ever come between us, could ever separate us. Where only our love for each other existed and tomorrow was just another today. There was no future, no past, just the present. There was no one else and all we could see was each other, proving our love for one another without a second thought because we didn't even need to prove it. We just knew it.

I felt a hand wrap around mine and smiled softly, knowing I'd return to my own personal heaven soon and that I wouldn't have to spend anymore time wondering if it were permanent or temporary, if it really would be there tomorrow, the next day, or the next. It was just there and we were just there and everything was just there…falling into place for the both of us.

It's hard to wonder what else is out there when you don't feel you need anything else. It's hard to question what's to come when you're too happy with the now. If anything, these things are just a fleeting thought that come and go when you have a silent moment, and then you forget and move past it to be with the one you love, letting your brain shut down and your heart do all the thinking, if it even thought at all.

The flights were long, tiring, quiet. The people around looked at us and smile, turning to each other and saying, "I wish I could love like that." I wondered, had I ever wished to love like this? Or did it fall into my lap like a gift for no reason at all? But in the end, it didn't matter, because I did love like this, and he loved me as much as I did him.

I didn't stop to try and understand, because I never would be able. Why try when you know you'll fail or only cause something that will upset you? In the end, analyzing something this good is more trouble than it's worth.

The days began to pass and September was fast approaching. I wasn't sure what came next, because Edward and I had really allowed ourselves to fall into the fog that our love created around us, making everything soft and peaceful and enveloping us into this safe, untouched, untainted world. But I knew that within days, that would be gone and we'd have to face the real world. Edward would be working, my book would be released, and time would be limited for us both.

I didn't dare, however, wonder if we would last. I knew we would, because without him, I wouldn't survive, and if he felt the way I did, he wouldn't either. I counted the days on the calendar, watching as the fog slowly cleared, and the only thing that gave me comfort was the two words he said to me. The two words that, aside from confessing his love, kept me from thinking about the terrible ways things could change.

The two words he began saying to me when we both began to count the days.

_For Always._

**_Now, this isn't the end, there's one more chapter, and then i'm going to do a few outtakes. I want you all to write in your reviews any outtakes you want me to write and I'll try to satisfy you with that. No, there will not be a sequel. Sorry, but I'm just too happy with the way this will end to ruin it with a sequel that I can't write...I love you all and will write other stories, I promise, but this story ends when I finish the outtakes. Please, send me your love in a review. 3_**


	23. Epilogue

**_a/n: alright so, here's the epilogue. it's short, i know, but it's the way i wanted to end it. I'm going to set the story as complete, but don't worry, there will be the outtakes that i promised. I already finished two of them. I'm not telling you what they are. they will be put up, however. if you have a request for an outtake, giv it in a review. If i can't do it because it doesn't fit with one of my other ideas, then i'm sorry about that. Eek. Anyway, this is it. Oh! something really quick! I'm learning to play Bella's Lullaby on the piano. It's really a lot harder because I can only reach one note above an octave and you need to make two so i've had to make an adjustment here or there but i've been doing it and it sounds wonderful. Love you guys and thank you all so much for being with me through the story!_**

**BELLA'S POV**

I smiled at Edward as he took his seat at the piano. The room was lit dimly as the sun set after a long day and I took my rightful seat beside him. I looked beyond the piano to watch as the sun fell down behind the vast expanse of water, the waves crashing against the shore as the stars began shining above and the new moon kept itself hidden from view. He slid his fingers gently along the keys in adoration, one which rivaled the way his fingers skimmed my skin. I used to wonder if I should be jealous, but soon learned that he had two great loves in this world, piano and I, though he would always love me more.

His fingers began to press into the keys as their surface glinted with a small sparkle, but little more could be seen as there was now nothing but night and the stars surrounding us, and even those did not exist as we sat here. Finally, he began to play the gentle tune that I'd only heard him hum over the past year on the nights that he'd be home for us to fall asleep together.

I closed my eyes, listening to the complex melody. So soft, and yet so powerful. There were three different parts to it, and no matter how many times you listened, it appeared so simple, and yet, as you watched, you could see the intricacy of it all. It had depth, yet as you first heard it, you'd never think it. His hands stretched more than an octave in order to just created certain chords, and his fingers danced in a pattern that just didn't seem to repeat. It made no sense, nearly undecipherable, but I could see the beauty, the intelligence, the complication it portrayed. And I listened as finally the notes dimmed out and his fingers rested on his lap, his right foot still on the pedal to keep the lovely sound drifting through the air to caress my ears much the same way his velvet voice did.

And it was my lullaby that he played.

"You, my love, my inspiration, my muse, forever own this lullaby," he whispered softly as he slender hands captured mine. I leaned forward and kissed his lips tenderly, enjoying the luscious taste that I never tired of.

"Thank you, Edward. Words cannot describe such talent," I responded against the soft flesh. Truly I was in awe of the talent this man possessed. Everyday, he just seemed to grow in perfection and I had yet to find a flaw.

"I have yet to find the proper words to describe you," came his reply.

I smiled and kissed him softly again and his arms wrapped around me, about to lift, but I pulled away, placing my finger upon his lips ever so softly, knowing we'd be leaving this paradise within the hour and I needed him to receive the small something I could give him to prove my love.

"I have something to show you."

"Show me, love."

I stood and led him to where our bags sat in the bedroom. Atop my clothing was a yellow envelope, and inside something I was waiting for the right moment to give him in the past two weeks, and found no better time than now. I lifted it and turned to him, pushing him so he sat upon the bed as he looked at me expectantly yet lovingly. My hands trembled as I placed the envelope in his, and he slowly opened it to reveal the book inside. He looked at it curiously, and immediately opened it to the first page.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I sat on the bed as she directed and watched as she pulled a large envelope from her suitcase, something inside of it causing it to bulge in an odd way. I opened the envelope once I received it and withdrew a book, the cover unreadable in the darkness. I opened to the first page instantly and shifted back against the headboard turning on the dim bedside lamp to observe the text. I felt something on my face and looked up to see Bella sliding my glasses on over my eyes. I hadn't packed them, which meant she'd brought them for me, expecting me to read this.

I smiled and began to read the text aloud, reading the book to her though I knew it was hers and she clearly knew how the story went.

"_Emmett came bouncing into the room like the six year old we all knew he really was at heart. A giddy Jasper followed, looking like a thirteen year old boy who had just received his first kiss from the most amazing girl ever. They excitedly jumped up and down; the house shaking each time Emmett's feet hit the floor…"_

I read to her through the entire novel, stopping only when necessary. The plane ride seemed short and I was thoroughly distracted as I read to the both of us. She couldn't stop smiling as I continued and, I admit, neither could I.

"_Love is a beautiful thing, something you find in the most unexpected places when you've decided you're not looking. It doesn't care about what's going on in your life, who you have, where you are, the time of day. It's like a little kid, determined to catch you by surprise and startle you with its sudden appearance, and sure it's frustrating and annoying sometimes, but in the end, it's cute and perfect and the world would be nowhere without it. Sometimes, you just have to smile and say, 'good one' because in truth, it's going to make you happier than anything else could._

"_I was never looking for love, falsely knowing that my heart had long ago lost that emotion, and I just stumbled upon it, for once not so literally, in the sanctity of my home surrounded by my best of friends. It was my savior, and so was the man I fell for. I didn't care back then how long it would last or what would happen, just determined, for once, to bask in the greatness, live in the moment. Summer romance, a one night stand, purely a friendship. As long as I lived it at least for a second, I didn't care what it turned into._

"_And it was funny, too, how I'd never believed something like this could happen to me. Hypocritical, even, considering my chosen profession. I'd never truly believed in that instantaneous spark, that pull of gravity, that imprint of their being on my own soul. It didn't matter the countless times people around me experienced it, I just did not believe it. Fairy tale endings only happened in books and true love was simply the illusion of overwhelming love before it's truly understood, but what else can you think when you have never experienced first hand the wonders that it truly was. So, that summer, I took a chance when I felt this, not sure if it would be the real thing or not. This was how my leap of faith turned into something I never would have imagined. Into forever._

"_Into For Always."_

Slowly, I closed the book and turned to look at the front cover for the first time since I'd sat in the dark room of what had been our temporary paradise away from the real world. The light, metallic blue cover faded into a blue tinged picture of a piece of white lined paper. In the center, were my two favorite words, written in my own messy scrawl, 'For Always'. And I knew it was one of the many notes I left to my love every time I left for work. Down below it, at the very bottom of the page, was my very favorite name.

"_By Isabella Marie Swan…" _I read off, looking at her before looking back and the book and grinning with utter joy. It was there, right there. _"Cullen."_

**_The end. Okay, so to answer a few questions that i'm sure will be asked..._**

**_1) yes, they were on their honeymoon._**

**_2) does it matter where they really were?_**

**_3) you'll get deets about the wedding and the engagement in two of the outtakes that I myself had planned on. Actually, that's the whole reason i was doing the outtakes, lol._**

**_4) No, i'm sorry, but i'm not going to write about all the fun sex they have on their honeymoon._**

**_5) yes, i'm planning on writing other stories._**

**_6) yes, Edward is seeing Bella's newest book for the first time. no, he did not know she was writing it, just knew she was working on something that she wouldn't show him. no, it wasn't released at that point, it was an advanced copy._**

**_7) she does have her name written Isabella Marie Swan Cullen on the book because by the time it's released she is married._**

**_If you don't understand why i started the book with the Emmett and Jasper thing, then go back to the very first chapter of this story and maybe you'll better understand that. Also, no, the book Bella writes is truthful story of how she met Edward, not a fictional romance novel like she usually writes._**

**_hm... what else?_**

**_Review because you love me! All outtake ideas are welcome!_**

**_Jordi Brooke_**


	24. Back to the Beach Outtake Number 1

_**Okay, so i figured it'd be smart to get you all this outtake first. Clearly, it's of the most important and will catch you up just a tad on what you missed. Really quickly, I'm going to be annoying and everyone something...**_

**_Did you all catch that the first lines of Bella's story are actually the exact start of this story?_**

**_Okay, done with my annoying moment now, there._**

**_Anyway, this is important, and I've already finished the next outtake too, but I might wait a few days to post it._**

**_One last thing! I decided to create a website for all the pictures that have to do with my story. It's www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/myfanfictionpics_**

**_That's where you'll be able to find not only two images from this chapter, but also the cover of Bella's Book!!!! I even made it all by myself. I think it's pretty kewl and it turned out exactly as I imagined it would. I'm amazing at picnik!_**

**_Okay, I'm done. I love you all very much and I'll talk to you soon enough, I'm sure! Please review!!!_**

_**Outtake Number One (Author's Choice)**_

**BELLA'S POV**

"How much longer?" I asked.

Edward chuckled at my impatience, causing me to huff. "Relax, my love, we're nearly there now."

I folded my arms across my chest and sank back into my seat. "Yeah, you try relaxing when you're forced to keep your eyes closed for twenty minutes with _your _driving," I muttered. His lovely chuckled filled his Volvo once again, causing the corners of my lips to twitch as I fought back a smile.

I sat and waited just a few more minutes until Edward parked the car at what was the surprise location for our evening. I kept my eyes closed, dying to open them just a smidge and peek at whatever was before me. When he opened my door and helped me out, familiar sounds began to strike me. The wind rustling through the trees and the moving water of the ocean. The familiar smell of the salt water and the lingering warmth from the final summer days tickled my senses.

I smiled and spread my arms wide, letting the beach take me in. I was almost positive we were down at First Beach.

Edward's arm wrapped around my waist and I heard something like glass or metal clinking on the other side of him as he led my sandaled feet onto the cooling sand. When he stopped, he bent and placed something on the ground before turning me in a certain direction and standing behind me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"You may open your eyes now, Bella," he whispered lovingly into my ear, and I did exactly that, slowly allowing them to flutter open as I, indeed, took in the surroundings of First Beach.

I looked across the water and smiled more greatly than I'd been before. At my feet was my beach blanket, a picnic basket set on the corner and freesia and other wild flowers spread out across it. A gust of wind blew past again and tossed a few flowers carelessly from the blanket and onto the sand. The sun was beginning to fall.

Edward's hands slid along my waist over the long, floor length dress I wore with the slit that came from the hemline to the thigh. Alice told me he'd picked it out, and all she had done was gotten the proper size and shoes. She'd done my hair while Rosalie had done my makeup. They kept looking at me so oddly, and I was beginning to wonder what was up.

"Sit down," he whispered, gently guiding me down onto the blanket. I took a seat as he sat down beside me in khaki pants and a white dress shirt, the top two buttons left open to reveal his perfect, smooth chest. He grinned crookedly at me, my heart beaten erratically in my chest, and then leaned over me to remove my sandals. He removed his own shoes and then opened the picnic basket, withdrawing a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. We'd already eaten earlier, and now the sun was just beginning to set as he poured the glasses, handing one to me and keeping the other for himself.

He didn't speak as he set the bottle back into the basket upright and pulled out a plate of frozen, chocolate drizzled strawberries. I sipped my wine as my mouth watered at the sight. I wasn't sure if it was the strawberries or Edward at the moment, however, who appeared more appetizing. He chuckled when he saw the way I looked at him and picked up a strawberry by the green leaves on top, placing the tip against my daintily opened lips.

Taking a small bite of the frozen fruit, I reveled in the taste. It was so sweet and so delicious. My favorite. Edward chuckled as my eyes opened and I blushed, not even realizing just how much a showed my appreciation for the flavor. He pulled the strawberry back and took the rest of it into his own mouth, placing the leaves back onto the platter in a small dish that had been set aside for that exact reason.

"Edward?" I questioned.

"Yes, love?"

I shook my head. "Nothing," I answered, because honestly there was nothing to ask him in the moment as I lifted a strawberry to his lips and he did the same as I had, taking a bite from the end. I did as he had and consumed the rest before dropping the greenery into the small dish.

He leaned up and over the plate that was between us and kissed my lips softly, his hand resting against my cheek in a loving caress as his thumb skimmed over the warming skin.

"I love you," I whispered against his lips as he began pulling away.

"As I, you."

We sipped on our wines and continued to feed each other strawberries with nothing more than the sounds of the wind and the waves breaking our comfortable, loving silence.

"Close your eyes," Edward spoke softly, suddenly, as he began reaching into the basket once more. I did as he asked, waiting. I listened as he removed something from the basket then put the nearly empty plate back inside. He shifted and sat nearer me until the both of us were lying lengthwise along each other on the blanket. His lips brushed against mine if only for a moment. "Have I told you how stunning you look this evening?" he asked.

I nodded, my eyes staying closed, though I could feel the sun continuing to retreat, imagining it behind Edward as the beautiful reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples danced in the background, the soft light falling behind the dark, moving yet calm water.

"There's only one thing missing," he stated gently. His right hand found my left and something cool slid into place on my finger. My insides began flipping around and I smiled, yet kept my eyes closed as I awaited permission to see if what I expected was truly what he had just put upon my hand. "Much better." He pressed his lips against mine, not releasing my hand from his before he began speaking once again.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you have no understanding of what you mean to me, yet I intend to spend everyday of the rest of my life proving to you how much I need you, care for you, and love you. This very spot in which we sit, many months ago, was where you once poured your heart out to me of the man who let you down, and I promise you I'll never be that man, for disappointing you is not an option that I could live with. You told me that you never thought you'd be able to find that degree of love, but I like to believe that when you took this chance with me, you found just that and more. I know that I did.

"Love, there is not one doubt within me that you and I are meant to be together for the rest of our time here on Earth, and even after we no longer walk the planet. We are one, and without you there is no us or me, simply nothing. I need you, even if only to exist, because alone, living is impossible. You give me life, and strength, and love, yes, most importantly love. Bella, I love you with every fiber of my being, and I beg you to do me the honor of marrying me."

His fingers flitted over my eyelids and they slid open of their own accord as I smiled greater than I ever thought possible at this man. I pressed my lips to his, knowing my voice would fail me if I tried to give him my answer in any other way. His hand held my face to his as he kissed me with every emotion I knew existed within the both of us, and I returned it all with greater enthusiasm to be sure he understood what I was saying.

Suddenly, I was lifted into the air, pulled tightly against Edward's chest as he looked into my eyes with those perfect green emeralds and spun me, causing me to giggle and wrap my arms around his neck and hold him tightly. I could see the ring glimmering on my ring finger where it gripped onto him for dear life. The main stone, the same green as his beautiful eyes, was surrounded by small diamonds that twinkled even with the little light.

I peppered kisses across his face while he spun me so fast I would have been sick had I not been so happy. As he set me back down on my feet, the bare souls on the sand that hardly retained the warmth of the day as the sun had finally set and the stars twinkled in the clear night. I looked up into his eyes as he raised his hands to my cheeks, wiping them softly.

"What is it, Love?" he asked, concerned, and I realized he was wiping away tears.

I hoped desperately my voice would work as I replied. "Edward, I love you." It was a soft whisper, yet the answer was firm none the less.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked.

I knew I was still smiling, but somehow, it just continued to grow and grow and grow from the moment I stepped foot on the beach. "Because I'm unbelievably happy."

"But…"

"But nothing. Tears of joy, Edward. Tears of joy," I reassured him as his arms wrapped around me once again and pulled me up against his chest. We molded together perfectly, as if we were made to be together. It was heaven.

"Do you know how great it feels to have finally gotten that ring on your finger?" he asked me, grinning like a fool.

I giggled. "About as good as it feels to be the one wearing it," I answered, kissing his cheek and then his lips chastely.

"Love?"

"Yes?"

"Stay with me forever," he whispered into my ear.

"Always."

He looked into my eyes as I gazed back into his, watching as he clearly saw I was speaking the truth. Never could I leave this man, for he was my heart, mind, body, and soul.

His head leaned down toward mine as I tipped mine toward his and our lips met, the electric spark that I'd become so familiar with in my time with him since that first touch months ago, the day he walked into my life, coursing through my veins. I would never tire of that spark.


	25. Karma's A Bitch Outtake Number 2

_**Outtake Number 2**__**: Jacob and Lauren…Suggested by Katherine Rosalie Hale – this one's for you and your jackass Jacob!**_

**JACOB'S POV**

"Come on, baby, don't be like that," I begged as she placed the engagement ring in my hands.

"I can't believe you would give me _her _ring," she sneered, turning her back on me as her blonde hair hung over her shaking shoulders. Dear god, she was crying. How could I have been so stupid?

"Lauren, sweetheart, I'll do anything. Please, don't cry. Please?" I entreated. I placed my hand on her shoulder, about to turn her to face me, but she shrugged it off.

"Don't touch me," she hissed.

"Baby, it's just a ring," I tried to reason.

"I thought you loved me…"

"I do love you."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have given me someone else's ring."

"Lauren, money's tight for us. I just wanted this ring on your finger to claim you as mine. I already had a really nice wedding band for you and figured that it would buy me time to save up for the matching engagement ring too," I explained…it was sort of true.

"Do you know how embarrassed I was?" she spat at me. "That little bitch humiliated me in my work place."

_Stupid little _Itty Bitty Barista_…_

I sighed. I'd had such a long day at work today and wasn't in the mood to deal with this shit. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry I embarrassed you. We'll go to the jeweler's soon and have your rings sized and everything, I promise."

"Jacob Black, do you really think that buying me my own ring will simply make this go away?"

"Rings," I corrected. She glared. I shook my head. "We love each other. Do you really need a ring to prove that?"

She grinned at me. "I love you, Jakey," she cooed sweetly.

_That was too easy, _I thought with a smile as she dragged me to our bedroom just three feet from our rat infested kitchen.

_**Lauren and Jacob's Wedding Day…**_

Something wasn't right. And yet, no matter how many times I said this to Billy, he continued to reassure me that everything was just fine and that I purely had cold feet.

"Yeah, cold feet," I agreed without conviction, laughing nervously.

I stared at myself in the mirror of the men's room in the ancient church. The peeling wallpaper was disgusting me and the mirror was cracked, giving me about a million eyes.

"Are you sure everything's set?" I asked.

Billy growled. "Yes, Jacob, everything is set for your wedding."

I sighed, wiping my hands down my tux jacket before growling myself. Dammit. I rubbed gray dust all over the front of it.

"I need tape," I muttered, looking around. There was tape all over the room holding everything together. I searched for a roll anywhere. "Dammit. Where's a fucking roll of tape when you need it?"

"Calm down, Jacob," my father ordered, wheeling forward to smack me hard across the face when I leaned nearer him.

"Ow," I whined feebly.

"Man up," he responded before leaving the room. He was still sore about me leaving Bella. Although, he claimed he was entirely thrilled that she found Edward. _Fuckward…_

Twenty minutes later, I was standing up at the front of the crumbling church from the 1400s (or at least it seemed like it was from that century), watching as my beautiful bride walked down the aisle toward me in the white dress we'd gotten at the rummage sale three weeks ago. She was gorgeous, though the dress looked a little big. But hey, it was only thirty bucks. Can't beat that sort of bargain.

The wedding was small. Me, her, Billy, Mr. and Mrs. Mallory, Lauren's brothers and sisters, Seth, Annie, my work associates (did they really have to come in their work overalls still covered in grease?) and Lauren's friends. Jessica was standing there, waiting for Lauren to meet me and to take the flowers. Some homeless guy I picked up off the street and put in a tux (jeez, his teeth were yellow!) at the last second when my best man, Jason, threw a fit and decided he wouldn't be in the wedding standing at my side.

"Pweeeeeeettyyyyyy," he sang drunkenly. Oops, maybe I should have asked someone, oh, I don't know…sober?

Mr. Mallory gave me Laurens hand when they were finally near enough, scowling at me. What did I do?

"You look sexy," I whispered. She rolled her eyes and plastered on her fake little smile, tossing her bouquet at Jessica and standing in front of me. "Ready?"

"Chyea," she responded unenthusiastically.

"Dearly beloved…" the reverend began. He droned on for a little while. "…If anyone believes these two should not be married, please speak now or forever hold your peace."

I smirked. Like anyone would—

"Stop!" a man shouted as the church doors flew open. I heard one of the hinges snap and grimaced.

"Aro!" Lauren exclaimed happily, ripping her hand out of mine.

"Lauren, you can't marry him. Please, I love you. I can't lose you, not now!" he begged, falling down on his knees and clasping his hands together. He was in a highly expensive suit with some costly looking rings and jewelry on. His hair was done back in the way the rich men on TV wore it and I saw a sweet Lamborghini parked out front of the church. Jeez, this guy was loaded.

"Aro, baby, I…" she trailed off, walking away from me and heading down the aisle. "You…you love me?"

"Of course, I do. I've loved you since the moment I met you. Your kind heart, your smart mind, your loving nature." _He's talking about Lauren? _"I loved you physically and I will always love you emotionally. Please come with me. Marry me."

My eyes popped wide open. "You're fucking kidding me!" I shouted, but no one acknowledged it as they all watched Lauren approach this…_Aro…_

"Yes," she whispered.

"No. Way."

And the two of them walked off into their own fucking sunset, riding on Aro's trusty white stallion…I mean Lamborghini… God, I hope she's not riding Aro's white stallion. Ew.

I sat on the front of the church's steps, looking out across the street and wondering what the hell just happened. I toyed with Lauren's rings in my hand, watching as happy couples strolled along the sidewalk, taunting me. Damn.

Just then, two people stopped in front of me.

"Jacob?" a voice asked. I looked up at my beautiful Bella.

"Hey, baby," I replied in a solemn voice.

She frowned. I thought she was about to be compassionate, but no. "Don't call me baby."

I sighed and watched as her hand came up to her cheek and something sparkled, catching the sun. My mouth dropped wide open. She was fucking engaged.

I turned to look to the second person and there, in all his glory, stood Fuckward, grinning smugly at me. Prick.

"Nice rock," I commented offhandedly.

"I see you've got one of your own," she shot at me, pointing at the ring in my hand.

Touché. "Yeah I…"

"Got dumped," she finished for me.

"Yeah."

"Sucks to be you," she replied. "Believe me, I know."

I sighed. Karma's a bitch.

_**So, first thing's first, that was just too much fun to write.**_

**_Second, go to my profile and click on "homepage" or just go to www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/myfanfictionpics to see any pictures from this story._**

**_third, I MADE A PICTURE THAT LOOKS LIKE HOW I IMAGINED BELLA'S BOOK SO YOU GOTS TO LOOK AT IT!!_**

**_fourth, I'm sorry to all you Jacob lovers out there for this outtake, but I reread Eclipse the other day and was just like, no, Jacob, you're a real bitch becuase all you keep doing is hurting Bella and Edward. Stop._**

**_fifth, I have eighteen hundred projects due this month, so I'm not really working thoroughly on a new story, but have decided on the topic/plot and everything and have finished the first three chapters. Of course, I won't begin posting until I'm a little ways in, so bear with me please._**

**_Sixth, please review!_**

**_seventh, I'm turning fifteen in 10 days, 1 hour, and 9 minutes. He he he, yeah I'm that precise._**

**_eighth, I've officially learned Bella's Lullaby and my mom (who also happens to be my piano teacher) has decided that it will be my recital piece. How cool is dat?_**

**_ninth, Keep giving me ideas for outtakes!_**

**_Tenth, the next outtake I post will (probably) be the wedding and I already have that entirely planned out so :P_**

**_LOVE YOU ALL. For always yours, Jordi Brooke_**


	26. Us Against the World Outtake Number 3

**a/n: _sorry, guys, it's been awhile. I've known what I wanted to do with this for a while, even picked the dresses and hairstyles a few weeks ago, but just couldn't write it until today. I had no school so I set my mind to writing, and, well, I think it turned out about the way I wanted for it to. It's pretty long for an outtake, long enough to really be a full chapter, but I decided I wanted to really put the full effort into it. So, hours later, here it is. I'm sorry if there are mistakes, but I just couldn't wait any longer to post and I tried my best to proofread. When you get there, listen to the song "Taking Chances" by Celine Dion if you can. You'll know when it is._**

**_Anyway, life's been busy, but anyone who has sent a review recently should have gotten a reply. I've got my website up and good and ALL OF THEIR WEDDING DRESSES ARE UP THERE! I hope you enjoy this, and if there are any other outtake ideas (I've been hearing a few that I will most definitely be writing) please feel free to submit it in a review._**

**_If you love me, you'll review. Love you, Jordi Brooke. Happy Good Friday/Passover/Easter Weekend!_**

**BELLA'S POV**

"Wow," I whispered in awe as I stood beside my friends, looking in the large wall of mirrors in Alice's studio up in the attic. The stylists were done, the dresses were on, the hair was pinned, and now it was just the three of, staring at ourselves, wondering how we got here today.

"Who would have thought?" Rosalie wondered aloud, and Alice smirked.

"Even I didn't see this one coming."

I laughed and they both did too. Nothing could bring any of us down today.

It was amazing how far we'd come from the first day we met each other. I couldn't help the huge grin that grew. "Hey guys, you remember that first day, back on the UW campus?"

They understood my grin all too well.

"Of course! How could any of us forget?"

**Flashback**

_Jacob carried my bags up to my room for me, but there wasn't much. Mainly, it was the clothes I'd need, my laptop, and a few other things that were important to me. A few essentials for the dorm life were thrown in there, and then he left to go set himself up with a quick hug and a kiss goodbye._

_The dorm room was pretty big, had three separate bedrooms, which surprised me, but I paid no mind to that as I simply picked the room with the smallest dresser. I didn't have much and most girls had three times what I did. It wasn't necessary for me to be taking all the extra, unneeded room._

_As I was putting away my clothes, a Victoria's Secret model walked into my dorm, three buff guys carrying around boxes and furniture and suitcase. Wow, she had a lot of stuff. She picked one of the rooms, the one that looked the largest, and started putting away her things. I could hear her moving about the dorm, saying, "Joey, put that down before you break it," or "Jackson, take that to my room" or "Doug, for the last time, go home, we've got this. Amy is going to pop any second and you're leaving her alone with Annie!"_

_I finished folding my clothes and organizing them in my drawers before starting to make my bed and set up my room so that it looked somewhat homey. I placed my picture of Jacob and me on my nightstand, and then a few pictures of my parents and me on my dresser. When I was finished, I went out into the living room, watching as the blonde super model and her buff servants or movers or friends or whoever the hell they were moved her things into the apartment._

_She brushed past me, not even acknowledging my presence._

_Another girl came in, very short but stunningly beautiful as well. Her dark black hair stood out in the still relatively bland dorm room against the white paint of the walls._

_She perked up as soon as she saw me, bouncing toward me as two guys carried suitcases and other things into the dorm. She told them to just put the stuff down by the door and that she would take care of it before bouncing happily toward me and smiling._

"_Hi! I'm Mary Alice Brandon. Please call me Alice, because only my parents call me Mary. Looks like we're going to be roomies. What's your name?"_

_I tried to keep up with the little bundle of energy, but failed miserably as I slowly repeated what she said over in my head. Finally getting it, I smiled at her nervously. "I'm Isabella Marie Swan, but I go by Bella. It's nice to meet you." I stuck my hand out for her to shake, but she pushed it away. At first I was offended, but then she pulled me into a hug which I returned awkwardly._

_The blonde strutted into the room, still not acknowledging me or Alice. The guys carried one last suit case into the dorm and brought it back to her room before they finally finished and stood at the door. She hugged each of them and kissed their cheeks, wishing them some things and calling them her 'lovable idiots' before they each left. One of them, I think she'd called him Joey, ruffled her perfect hair and she punched him in the gut playfully, but she was clearly stronger than she appeared and knocked the wind out of him, causing the other two guys to laugh._

_When they left, she closed the door, and she walked past us again. Alice huffed and walked in front of the woman, stopping her in her tracks, giving her the same greeting she'd given me, but with more force behind her words._

"_That's good for you, pip squeak," the blonde replied before stepping around Alice and continuing on._

_Alice froze for a second, but then spun around on her incredibly expensive looking high heels. "Hey you! Don't think for a second you can treat me like _that_. I may not be as tall as you, and maybe not strong enough to knock the wind out of a guy like that, but I can promise you that you _do not _want to be on my bad side. So let's try this again, shall we? My name is Mary Alice Brandon, you _will_ refer to me as Alice, you will _not_ ignore me, you _will_ walk over here, shake my hand, and tell me your name, and then you _will_ greet Bella kindly as well. Do I make myself clear?"_

_Even I was shaking in my Converse sneakers, and Alice's anger wasn't even directed at me._

_The blonde looked at her for a moment, stunned, before she started laughing. "I like your spunk, little one. Alright, fine. I'm Rosalie Lillian Hale, but you can call me Rose if you'd like." She sounded pretty friendly when she spoke then the looked up at me. "And I'm guessing you're Bella."_

"_Yes."_

"_Is that short for something?"_

"_Isabella."_

"_Nice name."_

"_Thanks…I think."_

"_Well, since this was a pretty rocky start, I think we need to do something to improve the evening and really get to know each other," Alice quipped._

"_And what would that be?" Rose and I asked._

"_Girls' Night!" she chirped._

_And so the chick flicks, the nail painting, the chatting, the (now tradition) twenty questions, and the laughing commenced._

"_I have a feeling this is the start of beautiful friendship, girls," Alice said._

**End Flashback**

"Damn super pixie feeling prediction thingies," Rose and I both muttered under our breath and all three of us began cracking up.

We settled quickly, however, and just hugged, careful. "It's been a long journey here."

Alice smiled softly. "_Ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waitin' on the other side, it's the climb," _she quoted Miley Cyrus's new song. I rolled my eyes at her knowledge of the teenage pop singer. She'd seen the movie just last week.

Still, I understood what she meant. In the end, it didn't matter where we got to, so much as how we got there. We were still climbing to the top of our mountain, together. We'd all started at the bottom and followed our paths, and they joined together somewhere along the way. There were so many turns we could have taken along the way, but each of us decided to continue the path we took, and slowly, three more paths converged with ours. We were all still following the same path, now, as we climbed our way to the top of our mountain together, knowing everything that happened along the way counted in the long run, and that one wrong turn away from the other could separate our paths and only once we reached the top or took another turn could we join our climbs as one once again.

"We've still got a long climb lain out in front of us, girls, and I'm not backing down from the challenge," Rose replied.

"Best friends forever, we take every step together," I spoke.

We joined hands in a little circle, our eternal symbol that it would always be the three of us against the world no matter what happened. The only difference now was that we were no longer our perfect little trinity. But it would be us.

I smiled softly, looking at Alice in her dress, and then Rosalie in hers. They each looked stunning, and I felt I did as well. Alice had done an amazing job in her designs, and each dress suited us. Alice in her strapless, sweetheart neck lined dress, the perfect beaded and embroidered designs along the hemline and over the torso. Rosalie in hers with straps that went over her back and met at the center of it, revealing a good portion of her back, and V neckline. The designs were similar on her dress as well. Mine with the halter straps and the whiter color, the designs very similar, but only embroidered, no beads. All of ours had long back that trailed out behind as we walked.

Alice had her hair pinned against her head and two strands of hair on either side of her face, straightened and shaping her slender features.

Rosalie had her hair down in loose wavy curls and parted to the side, her face shining behind the lustrous silk.

And I had my hair in a high almost bun, but not completely because we then allowed the hair to flow down my back in curls. My bangs were pinned up, and my hair was shining. The stylist had wanted to put a beautiful crystal flower into it as well, but I loved it too much without.

And we each wore our necklaces, Alice's with the J and mine and Rose's with Es. Each of us had one picture inside, engagement pictures, and the other sides of the lockets were empty. The new pictures would be inserted when we got home. The wedding pictures.

I smiled at my girls again.

The day after Edward had asked me, I had come up with an idea. I remembered the night in Phoenix when Alice and I had been talking about how we were beginning to drift, and what better way to assure each other of how valuable we hold our friendships than to spend the most important days of our lives, the one that would be shared with our men to prove our love for them, to be one where we prove our love for each other as well, sharing it with each other.

When I'd told Alice, she'd changed nearly everything she'd been planning, and the three of us began to plan our weddings together. Now, a year later, our busy work had paid off, and as we stood there together, we knew that this would not be the end, but the start of a new chapter in our lives, one where it wasn't about the three of us each meeting three new character, but where all of us six characters became the focus of the story in equal capacity.

I looked back at my life as our fathers all entered the room, meaning the ceremony was about to begin.

Chapter 1: Growing up without knowing any of the others existed.

Chapter 2: High school and wandering between the crowds that would no longer mean anything to us in a few years.

Chapter 3: Beginning to become the women we are today.

Chapter 4: College, us meeting. The beginning of everything that I held dear to me now.

Chapter 5: Out goes Jacob, in comes the comfort. When we begin to realize how much more we need each other.

Chapter 6: More than best friends, we're sisters.

Chapter 7: Jasper joins the club.

Chapter 8: Emmett's not far behind.

Chapter 9: A new home, a new family, knowing how important everything I have is to me.

Chapter 10: Enter Edward.

Chapter 11: Beginning to drift.

Chapter 12: Renewal.

Chapter 13: Remembering.

Chapter 14: The completion of our family of six.

Chapter 15: Us against the world. We're all that mattered. This chapter begins today.

My father took my hand and we walked together down the steps, Alice with her father, and Rosalie with hers. As the wedding march began, we all walked out onto the front porch and Rosalie walked to her soon to be husband, then I did, and then Alice.

Standing there in his tux, smiling like me with sparkling eyes, was my Edward. Charlie released my hand into Edwards, and with a deep breath, I smiled in return at him, as the priest began to speak the opening words to our beautiful new chapter in the Book of Life.

**EDWARD'S POV**

I kissed my beautiful bride when finally given permission, not caring who was around. The surroundings had melted away the second she'd appeared at the end of the aisle.

The cheering and the clapping of hundreds of people sitting out on the front lawn of the house that would no longer be our home when we returned from our honeymoon.

"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan Cullen."

"And I love you, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," she answered.

"Missus Cullen."

"Mister Cullen."

I laughed and kissed her again in utter joy, pulling away with a goofy grin on my face that matched the beautiful one on hers.

We walked down the aisle after Alice and Jasper. Emmett and Rosalie had yet to come up from air. We took pictures later in the yard as people talked in the backyard where our reception was set up. We'd all wanted a wedding here at the house, where we all came together permanently.

I hugged my mother and smiled at babies Emma and Elliot, one being held by her, the other in my father's arms. Emma looked exactly like Dad, and Elliot, he was definitely a mama's boy. I kissed Mom's cheek and let Bella chat with my mother while I stole baby Elliot, going to speak for a moment to my own father.

He grinned at me. "Congratulations, son."

"Thanks, Dad. Man, who would have thought that coming out here for a job would lead to love?"

He laughed and Emma giggled cutely, looking up at me with those ice blue eyes that twinkled in infantile delight. Elliot pulled on my jacket and I looked to see his eyes were just a slightly different shade of blue, though I knew they wouldn't be that way for long. My eyes had been exactly that color until I was around three and they began to form the vibrant green Bella claimed to adore.

"Love will find you when you least expect it to, Edward."

I nodded. "I've heard Bella saying it a lot lately, mostly when she's sleeping." I chuckled at the thought of some of the ridiculous things she said as she slept. Although, more recently it was a lot of talk about love, my name, and things that she's said since we met. "I think it's all of that writing that's getting to her. She won't give me even a clue what it is."

Carlisle had this knowing look that said he knew exactly what she was writing. I narrowed my eyes, but he zipped his lips and began talking with his daughter. God help that poor little girl.

Bella finished speaking with my mother and came over to Carlisle who offered his congratulations and whispered something into her ear that made her giggle, and she whispered something back, blushing. He laughed and she kissed his cheek. I handed my little brother back to Mom and grabbed Bella around the waist so we could go and speak with other guests.

There were hundreds of people here. Most of the people living in Forks, people at Bella's publishing house and at the new one she was releasing her most recent book with, people who Rosalie had known and knew through her family, people who Alice knew and some of her favorite clientele. There were people Jasper, Emmett, and I were more than familiar with, and then of course all of our parents had a few requests of people they were closed to who any of us had once known as children and that we couldn't remember, but sometimes got birthday cards or Christmas presents from.

People smiled, laughed, congratulated, chatted, and just enjoyed themselves. The night was beautiful.

Originally, we had planned on having our first dances together, the three of us on the dance floor, but we changed our plans two months ago.

**Flashback**

"_No way are we dancing to that!" Alice protested._

"_Aw, come on Alice. We all know you ride your little cowboy over there," Emmett boomed, laughing. Bella had suggested 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy', jokingly of course as neither of us had yet forgotten the night of Emmett's engagement in the hotel room, but Emmett decided it would be a real submission for possible song choices._

_Alice smirked. "One, he's not little, and two, I ride his horse good, so shut up and let's be serious." Bella was laughing so hard at this point that no sound was coming out. Emmett and she had been making a number of hilarious suggestions for the past ten minutes. I was barely keeping myself in control. "Now, I was thinking that we should dance to 'When You Look Me In the Eyes' by the JoBros."_

"_The second you said the JoBros that song was disqualified," Rose replied._

" '_Before He Cheats' by Carry Underwood!" Emmett tried. We all ignored him and started making more legitimate suggestions._

_Still he continued._

"_What about 'Hot in Herre'?"_

"_Yes, Emmett, because we all want to watch you strip at the reception."_

"_Okay, then what about 'I Touch Myself'?"_

"_Do you really need me to respond to that?"_

"In Love with A Girl_?"_

"Jizz in My Pants_?"_

"_Yes, because that's the song I want to dance to at our wedding."_

"This Ain't Sex._"_

"Love Is Gone._"_

"PUNKB*TCH!_"_

"_No Emmett!" we all shouted._

"White & Nerdy!_ That is totally your song Edward!"_

"_Ooo! Ooo! _Slow Dancing In a Burning Room!_"_

"_You do know that's about a failing relationship, don't you?" My brother shrugged and moved onto other suggestions._

"If We Were a Movie_!"_

"Welcome to the Black Parade._"_

"Starstrukk._"_

"_Brother bear, your song choices are epic fails."_

"Womanizer!_" Surprisingly, Alice suggested this. We all laughed and, just for fun, started throwing out random ones that we knew wouldn't work._

"Don't Trust Me._" That was my suggestion._

"Mmm Papi,_" Bella threw out there._

"_Ew, Bells, we don't need to know what you say to Edward in the bedroom," Emmett grimaced._

_I laughed as Rosalie suggested, "_Maneater._"_

"You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)._"_

_Then we all got serious again (except one very obvious person) as we continued suggesting songs, though we couldn't agree on anything._

"Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)!_" He flicked his hand out like Beyonce and gave a little pouty face. I rolled my eyes._

_Bella, Jasper, and I were in agreement on one of my suggestions, but Rosalie and Alice weren't buying into it, so it was put to rest._

"_What about _Claire de Lune_?" Bella suggested. It would be a nice piece, and there would be no words to worry about._

_Just as four of us were in agreement (Bella, Jasper, Rose, and me) Emmett had to throw one more piece out there._

"My Life Would Suck Without You_!"_

_Unfortunately, Alice agreed._

**End Flashback**

So Alice and Jasper danced first to _Bubbly _by Colbie Caillat.

They danced well together, and I knew why they each had selected it. Clearly, it was Alice's bubbly face that made Jasper think of it, but it was all about feeling the way that they did, and wow, did we all know it. A little too well.

Rosalie and Emmett danced to _Without You _by Christina Aguilera. Dangling sex, or a lack there of, in front of Emmett really could motivate him to be serious. It was like life or death with him in a situation such as that. And it was funny because it was true.

Bella and I danced last of all.

_Don't know much about your life  
Don't know much about your world but  
Don't wanna be alone tonight  
On this planet they call Earth_

_You don't know about my past and  
I don't have a future figured out  
And maybe this is goin' too fast  
And maybe it's not meant to last_

When Bella had selected this song, I hadn't understood her reasoning. When she explained it to me, I began to understand and felt this was the perfect song for us.

_But what do you say to takin' chances?  
What do you say to jumpin' off the edge?  
Never knowin' if there's solid ground below  
Or a hand to hold or hell to pay  
What do you say? What do you say?_

She told me that when I first arrived, she was losing her footing in the world, even if she hadn't realized it. That she was alone, even if she was surrounded by four people who loved her dearly. She had a future set for herself, but nothing was right about it, because it didn't involve me, and she hadn't realized that until then.

And then she told me about the day she had kissed me, about how the entire drive to Seattle that day she had spent convincing herself she needed to take the chance with me. She wasn't going to do any what-ifs or could-haves. She was going to take a leap of faith, and hoped she would land on both feet.

_I just wanna start again  
And maybe you could show me how to try  
Maybe you could take me in  
Somewhere underneath your skin_

She told me about how the second we were together, she was trying something again, something that she felt she'd failed at the first time, something that she wasn't sure how to try the first time, and was even more unsure about the second. I knew exactly how she felt, because a lot of the time we were together, I was trying something new, something I didn't understand fully, and I was starting anew in a whole new world that she helped me to adjust to without a problem.

The chorus repeated as we continued to dance in each other's arms. It felt so right. It always felt so right.

_Hey now, hey, my heart is beatin' down  
But I'm always comin' back for more, yeah  
There's nothing like love to pull you up  
When you're lyin' down on the floor, babe_She admitted that she'd fallen a lot further after Jacob left than she'd ever really realized, was down on the ocean floor, and I didn't just help her reach the surface, but brought her to shore and sat beside on the beach, watching the sunset.

_Don't know much about your life  
And I don't know much about your world_We knew nothing about each other when all of this started, but we went for it, and were more than rewarded with our other halves.

"I love you, Edward," she said to me, standing up on her toes so her lips were at my ear. I turned my face and pressed my lips to hers.

"I love you, Bella, more than anything."

"You are my life now."

"And you are mine."

Just as we finished our dance, the song changed to another and I smiled as Charlie approached and he began to dance clumsily with his daughter. Rose and Alice danced with their fathers as well. I listened to the song, _Butterfly Kisses _by Bob Carlisle, and laughed as my dad cut in with Bella for a short time and Jasper's dad cut in with Alice. He returned Bella to her father and danced with Rose for a while too. Jasper's dad returned Alice to her own father after a short while and my mother joined my father while my aunt distracted my uncle.

When the song, _Wind Beneath My Wings_, played, Jasper and I surprised our mothers by stealing them to dance. I remembered the time Bella and I had been kissing and I told her to ignore the call, only for it to be her father. I chuckled at the memory, now truly realizing how truthful my final comment to her father had been. Breaking her heart would mean breaking mine as well.

Emmett stole Mom from me so I stole Aunt Lizzie from Jasper and danced with her for a moment until Jasper cut in with Mom and Emmett with Aunt Lizzie. I saw my dad holding Emma and Elliot and motioned for him to come over. He handed Emma over to me and Elliot over to Bella who had decided she wanted to come on the floor to join me when I was left partner-less.

I chuckled as we each placed the child we held on our hips so they could lie against our chests and shoulders, and then pulled Bella to me so that she was against the side on which neither of us held me twin siblings. I wrapped my free arm around her waist and she turned toward me slightly, putting her free arm up around me neck and playing with the hair there. We swayed together to the music, smiling at each other.

I watched as the night wore on and people became too tired to stand or too drunk to stand without swaying. Mom and Dad put the twins to sleep in mine and Bella's room, since we wouldn't be staying there tonight. I could see Bella tiring, but even still she remained radiant.

I picked up her hand and kissed the back lightly, promising her we'd be leaving soon. We were flying out for our honeymoon. The thought made me nervous. I was going to play her the lullaby I had written, and Bella seemed nervous too, which scared me a bit. I almost suggested we play her lullaby for our first dance, but decided against it, because it was hers, and only hers. She could do with it what she wanted, but it was private and ours and was not meant for the large crowd that was now slowly thinning out.

Charlie, who had recovered well from his heart attack, approached us, smiling at his daughter with his arm wrapped around his girlfriend.

"Hey, Bells." He hugged her and then pulled back. "The wedding was perfect. Congratulations, kiddo. Don't forget to visit every once in a while."

She smiled at him and leaned into me. "Don't worry, Dad, we will. I promise."

I kissed her temple and shook Charlie's hand. In the past year, we'd begun to get along rather well. When he would talk to Bella, we'd have a short conversation, sometimes about sports, sometimes about his health (that was never his favorite topic), sometimes about how Bella was doing when he could tell she wasn't giving him the whole truth, and sometimes just to get to know each other better.

Renee and Phil walked toward us, laughing together about something. They each appeared a little tipsy, but seemed still completely in control of themselves.

"Have fun with the married life, baby. You more than deserve a man like Edward, don't you ever forget that," Renee said to her daughter, imparting wisdom that I hoped Bella would take in fully.

I leaned in to Bella's ear and said, "It's I who does not deserve such a perfect woman like yourself."

"Oh hush you," she replied, smacking my arm playfully before saying goodbye to her mother and step father.

We said many more goodbyes to people we'd invited and our families. Billy had come and wished Bella the best, the both of them quoting a line from a Disney movie…the name escaped me at the moment. I didn't understand why, but it put a perfect little smile on Bella's face.

Saying goodbye to our little group had been the hardest of it all, at least for the girls. Sure, it was never easy to say goodbye to your brother and cousin, knowing you'd be separated for two weeks and when you'd come back, you would be living in different houses in the same city, but with less time to see each other. The girls hugged and congratulated and cried and laughed and smiled together, huddled in a little group, until we finally pulled all of them apart, knowing that Bella and I had a five hour drive to Seattle we needed to embark on and Emmett and Jasper had to drive their girls down to California before morning where they would get on their cruises.

When finally we were finished, I took Bella into the house and into what had been Bella's room before we became engaged and moved all of her things into my room. We changed into our travel clothes, seeing that it was nearly 2 AM, and Bella hung her perfect dress in the garment bag that would be put away in a box by my mother in the morning. Almost everything else in the house was packed and heading for our new, smaller home in Port Angeles.

When we were each in our comfortable shorts and t-shirts, showered, and into my car, I leaned over the console and kissed her thoroughly.

"I love you, Bella, and from now on it's you and me, and the other four crazy people we will always love. I'm so happy to finally be able to call you Missus Cullen."

She laughed cutely and kissed me in return. "I love you, Edward, and it's the six of us forever, but more importantly, it's us. I'm euphoric to finally be called Missus Cullen."

I chuckled and held her hand in my lap as I drove, spinning the band around on her finger with my thumb. The band that I placed there not hours ago. The symbol of our love, just like the one I wore on my left hand. I was hers, and she was mine. It was now us against the world, all six of us against the world.

It was us, just us.


	27. Six Years Outtake Number 4

_So, this outtake was another request, but I can't remember by who. If it's your request, let me know. It was just so long ago that I forgot the name :(._

_I've been uber busy lately, trying to figure out a new story to post. I've started writing so many different ones, but I just keep losing interest before I even get to the point where I feel comfortable posting it. In the middle of this story, those of you who were with me from the beginning probably remember me spacing out updates with weeks between. I lost interest in the middle and posted it from the first chapter on. I don't want to do that, and I really don't want to feel forced to write a story, so, that was my solution. Thus far, it's leaving me very discouraged. Anyway, I'm going to set up a poll on the stories that I think I might be able to pull through with and that I think plots will work well in, and I want everyone to vote so I can make a final decision._

_Also, I just started dating this guy. He's really great, really sweet, and just amazing, lol. Why am I telling you this? Because it means I'll be writing a little less. As you can you can tell, I haven't been keeping up with updates on these outtakes. I've done all of mine that I wanted to get done, and I've now officially done two requests. I've now figured out another that I'll put up soon, but I need you all to give me some more ideas because I only have one other request to fulfill other than my own idea._

_Recommend this story to your friends, review, PM, vote, ask me anything you want. I love hearing from you guys. You're all the best fans I've ever had, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride that is FOR ALWAYS. I'm always around on Email and whatever, and don't forget to check my website _www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/myfanfictionpics_ to view Bella's dress from this chapter, all of the wedding dresses from the last chapter, Bella's engagement ring from outtake number one, and the rest of the pictures from throughout the story. There's even the cover of FOR ALWAYS that i worked very hard to make perfect on PICNIK. Haha, love that site._

_Finally, i've told a lot of you that my recital piece was going to be Bella's lullaby, but i made a change at the last minute and now have only three more weeks, not even actually, to memorize a twelve page piece with 10 different key changes, selections from 17 different famous classical pieces, and a hell of a lot of difficult transitions. In other words, I'm playing nearly two hours a day to get it done and knocking off a lot of my usual writing time. However, somehow i manage to do my best thinking while I'm playing. I should be focusing on the piece, but my mind always drifts to Edward and what will happen next between him and Bella in my stories, and that's very distracting, so it's taking a lot longer than it should. I'm thinking about making a video recording of me playing Bella's Lullaby and putting it on my website, so tell me in a review or a PM if you'd like that._

_So I've taken up enough of your precious time with this note, if you even read it all, and I'm going to let you get to the story with one last thing:_

_**Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy. Review! **_

**_Outtake Number 4: Six Years_**

**Edward's POV**

I kept my hand firmly on Bella's back as we stepped out of the limo and into the flashing lights.

It was amazing how things could change in six years.

Six years ago, I graduated from med school.

Six years ago, I moved from Chicago to Forks, Washington.

Six years ago, I met the woman I'd spend the rest of my life with.

We were engaged by the end of the summer, and by June the next year, we were moving to Port Angeles, married, happy, and entirely in love.

The in love part, the happiness, and the marriage really hadn't changed in the years. Well, that wasn't true. They had all grown stronger and greater.

After our joint wedding, Alice and Jasper moved into their own apartment in Seattle, as did Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett was opening a new gym there, and Rose's work with BMW was strengthening. Alice was beginning to run Mom's new firm, and Jasper was moving his practice out where there would be more patients. Bella and I were perfectly content in the beautiful house we'd found.

We all stuck together, meeting up every weekend, though I wasn't around as much as I wished I could be as I still worked on my residency.

Three years later, Alice was prepared to launch her own clothing line, which was more successful than any of us had imagined. (Well, except for the pixie. She knew how good she'd be.) Her label quickly became well known and retailers wanted her line in their stores, giving her a broad range of choices.

Rosalie's car designs were completed and she'd created a working model all her own. One of the hottest NASCAR drivers on the circuit happened to hear a little about it and had his team check it out. Next thing any of us knew, he was the first to purchase a model of the incredibly fast, sporty, sexy car to use on the track, no modifications necessary. He won the first race he drove it in, and soon others were lining up to buy.

Emmett's gym began expanding until he had seven through out Washington. He was making good money, and his variety of equipment, classes, and facilities was desired. It wasn't long before he began opening more gyms outside of the state as well.

Jasper's practice was attracting attention. He was to the point where he had to turn down patients. After a while, he leased a larger office and started to staff a second therapist, then a third and even a fourth.

Bella's books were all bigger hits than the ones before. Summit Entertainment finally convinced her to let them make her book, _Love Bites_, into a movie. It was a total success, and she had so much fun with it, though she had to be away from me for over a month while I stayed back to work. Her following was growing, but it seemed that the more fans she had, the shyer she became. I found her absolutely adorable as she blushed furiously when a woman would stop her on the street and ask her for an autograph.

And me, I was still working at the hospital at the time. It kept me from traveling the US with Bella on her book tours and attending the premieres with her. The release parties weren't on my agenda as she traveled to California and New York while I sat in the Port Angeles Hospital with puke on my scrubs from the idiot who drank so much he passed out, then awoke when his friends brought him into the hospital.

A few months later, all of us ended up moving to homes around Los Angeles.

I opened my own private practice in collaboration with Jasper's. _Whitlock & Cullen_. He got his therapy stuff, I got my medical stuff, and both of us were perfectly content to get a large office where we could separate the two practices, but share at the same time, if that makes any sense at all. I got a lot more alone time with Bella, more reasonable hours, and time to travel and hang out with friends.

Alice was more than happy to be closer to the action of showbiz and style and whatnot. She set up her studio and Mom promoted one of the girls working with Alice to taking care of the branch Alice had previously been heading in Washington.

Rosalie was excited, because no matter where she lived, she'd be selling her ridiculously expensive, but in high demand cars. She was in no way opposed to living by LA. She most definitely saw one of her own cars drive by every once in a while, usually the same one owned by the same person, of course, but she would see it nonetheless and be giddy as hell.

Emmett opened up a gym in LA and started working with celebrities, who instantly bought memberships as he once again began expanding.

Bella didn't care where she lived, and while she truly missed the house in Forks where we got our start, she was excited with the changes that LA brought for the both of us. I got to travel with her and we got to sleep in the same bed together every night. I took every Thursday off and one of the three other doctors I'd staffed (after about a year, of course) would cover for me so I could spend the entire day with my wife. She wrote constantly, her stories all being number one hits and favorites.

_For Always _was always my favorite of her writings. Yes, she wasn't writing a plot or making up what happened, but the way she wrote it, the emotion it held, and the sound of it all was so incredible. It may have been made up, because it was just _the _perfect romance novel.

And it was a favorite of readers everywhere. I was pretty sure it was because most of them thought, _if it can happen to her, why can't it happen to me?_ It really renewed the hope of love that so many people had lost.

Summit Entertainment had, within the next year and a half, produced movies of two more books Bella had written. Soon enough, they came calling Bella's new publisher and publicist (she was sick of Tyler and needed a new publisher, then also needed a publicist because she couldn't handle all of it on her own) about producing _For Always._

Bella was entirely nervous about it as she sat there, trying to cast the movie with the directors. When I walked into the room, expecting to join Bella for a late dinner, she ran up to me, threw her arms around me, and told me she had an idea.

Months later, Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Bella, and I were standing on location, beginning to shoot the movie and reenacting what was truly a life changing summer for all of us. Of course, Carlisle, Esme, Charlie, Renee, Phil, Sue, Billy, Jacob, Lauren, and all of those other supporting characters were played by real actors. But no one could be us in this movie except for, well, us.

It was fun, it was perfect, and it was an entire two months of just us, back in our old house (how they'd gotten the new owners to let us use it, I'll never know) and reliving old memories.

It was everything I missed, and wished we could have again, but knew we couldn't have because we needed our own homes, our own spaces, for each couple.

Rosalie found out she was about a month pregnant a week after filming started, and Alice found out she wasn't far behind Rose on the last day of filming. Bella and I were discussing it, and decided we wanted a child, but it would happen when it happened, so she stopped taking her birth control and everything. That was seven months ago.

Tonight was the premiere.

We were the last ones to step out onto the carpet as the cameras flashed like crazy, momentarily blinding us both. Then we smiled and moved forward toward a ready-to-pop-at-any-second-because-she's-already-past-her-due-date Rosalie and a very out-of-proportion looking Alice. Their big, round bellies protruded from their thin bodies, their dresses falling over them in a beautiful way, as designed by Alice.

Bella was as thin as ever, though maybe carrying five or ten more pounds than she had when we'd met. She was wearing a beautiful blue gown. It had only one shoulder strap with sparkling beading, and the scalloped bodice was embellished with a large, diagonal bow, trimmed with beads. It was long, and flowing, and it high lighted Bella's natural shape.

All six of us stood together and took pictures, Alice and Rosalie grumbling about looking fat.

Soon we were being asked questions by different reporters and people with microphones and fans.

Personally, however, my favorite question was always, "Isabella! Are the rumors true?! Are you and Edward trying for baby number one?!" they continued to ask, and Bella and I would just smile at each other until finally all six of us were huddled back into our group.

"No, we're not trying," I answered, smiling lovingly at my beautiful Bella as she smiled back at me. The other four must have been entirely confused, because technically we were, even if it weren't in the way that most couples would.

"Because we're already pregnant!" Bella finished happily.

We looked at our four best friends who were currently shocked beyond belief. They were just staring at us, dumbfounded. Bella and I laughed, and I bent to kiss her.

"_Edward, I'm late," Bella told me when I walked in the door after a rather monotonous day of work._

_She looked like she was trying so very hard not to get her hopes up, but it was too late for her, and the second I heard those words come out of her mouth, I knew I was running to grab the pregnancy tests we'd kept in the bathroom, so sure that this time there would be a positive. She hadn't been late _once _since she came off her birth control._

_She laughed at my craziness, but the laugh was nervous. Hell, I was nervous too._

_She took it with her into the bathroom on the first floor, not allowing me in with her. I should have expected that, because this was Bella and everything embarrassed her, but I was her husband and a doctor, I wanted to be there to see everything and there was no way anything like that could possibly disgust me. When she was done, she opened the door and walked out with me, sitting down on my lap as we both bounced in anticipation._

"_You should have called me earlier, love," I whispered in her ear._

_She shook her head. "If it's true, then it would still be there when you got home."_

_I chuckled. "Yes, but how long did you have to wait between when you realized the possibility until I got home?"_

_She blushed. "Seven hours. I'm four days late, and I've been so caught up in writing that I didn't even think about it until you left this morning."_

_I chuckled and nuzzled my face into her neck. "You should have told me sooner, love. I would have come home right away."_

_She settled into my hold on her and we continued to bounce as we waited, until finally, the little timer she'd set up, rang obnoxiously. We both stood with hope and walked to the bathroom together and Bella picked up the three tests she'd taken._

This is it_, I thought, crossing my fingers. In just seconds, I'd know if I was going to be a father or if this was a false alarm. Bella bit her lip as she looked at it._

_Please be positive._

_Please be positive._

_Ever since Bella and I had married, I'd imagined the little girl who looked like a perfect combination of the two of us. Bronze hair, long and filled with curls. Brown eyes as deep as her mother's. Pale skin that we both had. A heart-shaped face with that blush I knew too well. A smile that would have me wrapped around her little finger the second she would first show it._

"_Oh. My. God," Bella whispered in a disbelieving voice. I looked over her shoulder at the three tests in her hand, all with positives._

_Her eyes were wide as she turned to me and dropped the tests into the sink, jumping at me and wrapping her arms around my neck. I caught her easily, her feet six of seven inches off the ground as I chuckled, looking up into her glowing face. Her expression was alight with merriment before she kissed me feverishly, and I kissed her back. I couldn't tell you how long we kissed, but we only broke apart whenever our chests burned with oxygen deprivation._

"_I love you," I whispered over and over again, and she said the same words. Finally, we slowed just a bit, and I set her feet on the ground, not releasing my hold on her waist._

"_Forever?" I asked her._

"_For always," she replied with a smile._

_I dropped down to my knees in front of her and lifted the front of her shirt, revealing her flat abdomen that would soon be round with our child. I pressed my lips to the soft skin, my hands on her hips and hers on my shoulders. "For always," I whispered to the unborn child. To our baby._

Alice squealed then and so did Rose, running toward Bella…well, waddling quickly. They all embraced the best they could, two bulging bellies getting in the way. Bella was laughing hysterically as they hugged.

"Dude, why didn't you guys tell us sooner?" Emmett asked, pouting.

I chuckled and smiled at our women, all three of them crying happily. Pregnancy hormones. "We wanted to really surprise you guys. You both did something big to announce Alice and Rose's pregnancies." I held out my hands, signaling to everything around us. "It really doesn't get much bigger than this."

Emmett and Jasper laughed before they each gave me a hug, the real kind, not the stupid I'm-A-Man-And-I-Don't-Do-That, one armed hug.

"Congratulations, Edward," Jasper said.

"Yeah, congrats man, and welcome to the club," Emmett spoke, a wicked grin on his face. "The next nine months, or however long she has until she's due, are going to be hell."

I laughed. "I'll take it all if I get a beautiful, healthy baby boy or girl out of it."

Bella's arms wrapped around my waist and, forgetting about the cameras that were watching us, she kissed me fully.

"I'm so happy," she admitted against my lips.

"Me, too, love."


	28. For Always A Family Outtake Number 5

_I originally posted this already, but it's being posted with a quick fix because i stupidly forgot about one of rose and em's daughters and so her name is on there too now. xoxoxo_

_so i meant to do this outtake yesterday, but on friday my dad surprised me with the most amazing tickets to **ZOOTOPIA!** So i got to see the black eyed peas, jesse mccartney, ciara, all-american rejects, kelly clarkson, soulja boy, and flo rida. It was absolutely amazing. Especially when** I** **GOT TO MEET JESSE FUCKING MCCARTNEY!!!!** He is so much hotter in person than he is on TV or in pictures. It was absolutely amazing and so much fun and so worth the hearing loss that i may or may not be suffering._

_Anyway, here's the next update. I hope you'll all enjoy it. I think it's a very nice one. Check at the end for all of the names and the order._

_**I have a poll up so please vote for my next story**. Until I post a new one, you should all keep checking continually because I will very likely continue adding new ideas and if you like one but have already voted, just PM me and let me know. Remember, guys, it's **YOUR DECISION **what I write next, so please give me your input because I seriously can't decide._

_I'm not sure if this will be the final chapter or not, but if it is then this has been a great ride, guys, and I love all of you with all of my heart and will miss you until I'm back to writing another story. Thank you so much for your fantastic reviews, kind words and praise, and letting me share my work with others. I've really enjoyed myself and love being able to hear what you guys think and just talk to you about regular stuff. I won't be writing a sequel, because I wouldn't be able to write anything as good as this and I wouldn't dare ruin it. I'm afraid of the damage I could do, lol, and that was the point of these outtakes. If you all want to hear another outtake or two and you have an idea, please let me know because I'll be happy to try and write it. This has been my life since August, and I've loved every second of it. Thank you for reading._

_xoxo Jordi Brooke xoxo_

**Edward's POV**

Bella was one of the _best _pregnant women I had ever had the pleasure, or, in some cases, displeasure, of meeting. Sure, there were times where her mood swings gave me whiplash, but all in all, she was constantly glowing, and happy, and excited for the upcoming birth.

The only problem Bella and I had during her pregnancy had been how she thought she was too fat while I thought she was more beautiful than ever. She would argue for hours that she looked like a cow and weighed something around 180, which was entirely untrue. She was beautiful, and round, and sexy as hell. Not to mention she was pregnant with triplets.

Apparently, multiple births ran in both of our families. Her grandmother was one of a set of identical triplets. My younger brother and sister were twins. Bella said she had numerous sets of twins within her extended family, and I was lucky that there weren't too many within mine.

Rosalie went into labor not ten minutes after leaving the premiere. We'd all rushed to the hospital and waited only a few hours before baby Logan was born. Alice complained the entire time about her back being in pain while she sat in the annoying hospital chairs, but she refused to leave until Logan was born. After a while, the nurses took pity on her and asked her if she wanted to wait in the lounge on the couch. Alice didn't take them up on their offer, though, because she wanted to be with the rest of us. She quit complaining after that.

Mom and Dad had flown down just a week before, expecting to be there for the Logan's birth, and Elliot and Emma were jumping around like the hyper little six year olds they were. They kept Alice busy after she refused the lounge, and she was entirely entertained, loving her cousin-in-laws.

Logan was entirely spoiled with loving family for the next month, and even after Alice gave birth to baby Abigail, he was showered in love right alongside her.

I caught my mom looking up homes for sale in the area, and she just smirked in response. About half way through Bella's pregnancy, my parents and my little brother and sister had moved to the same neighborhood as the rest of us lived in.

As the months went by, Logan had Rosalie's blonde hair and ice blue eyes (as opposed to Emmett's deeper blue). On the other hand, he had Emmett's curly hair and those, apparently, irresistible dimples.

Abigail had Alice's black hair that was almost always held a bow of some color or pattern. She was smaller than most, and that was likely attributed to Alice's tiny size. She had Jasper eyes, though, most definitely, and she was always so calm which I once again considered something courtesy of Jasper.

The both of them had all of us wrapped around their tiny little fingers.

And then, so much later, came the birth of our children.

Everyone had waited in the waiting room for hours. The triplets were very early, which made all of us nervous, but they were far enough along that they would be alright. They were perfectly healthy, as well, which was a bonus as far as all of the doctors were sure.

I recalled listening to their strong heartbeats between Bella's painful contractions. I recalled seeing them on the ultrasound and just staring at the little human beings housed within my wife. I kissed Bella's forehead, held her hand, and sat behind her as she delivered all three without any pain medications whatsoever.

First came Contessa Carly Cullen. A lot of Cs, I know, but she was beautiful and perfect and her cry filled the air immediately. Bella was smiling brilliantly at me and I was sure I looked about the same. They took the first of our babies away to clean her up and another contraction hit Bella.

Chase Joshua Cullen was born second, and his cry was once again heard immediately. It was an incredible sound. Better than any piece ever written on the piano.

Then, as we waited for the chance for our final little baby to born, the doctors were worried. Something didn't seem right, and while she still delivered little baby Carissa Renesmee Cullen, there was no immediate cry.

Bella squeezed my hand in worry, looking toward me and then back toward our third child. We watched as doctors worked to get our daughter breathing.

And then we heard it.

That perfect little amazing cry.

Music to my ears.

Bella laughed and cried at the same time, and I knew I was doing the same.

They cleaned Bella up and they took her to her private room. Not long later, two of our little babies were in the room with us. The nurse brought Chase to Bella and handed Contessa to me. I looked at the perfect little girl and could see the little wisps of dark hair coming from below her pink cap. Her eyes were still closed, but I was almost positive they would be dark and that she would eventually have Bella's chocolate brown.

She was so small, but I knew that was to be expected in a premi-baby.

I looked at Chase who was the same size. The tufts of hair were so much lighter, so I assumed his would be bronze. His eyes were opened, looking up at Bella as she whispered to him. They were light, which meant they would be my green.

I looked at the nurse standing in the room and then at the two little baskets where Contessa and Chase had been, realizing that Carissa wasn't in there.

Bella's doctor came in and spoke with us, saying that she was in the neonatal and they were keeping her on machines and what not. I was worried, but he said it was purely precaution because she was a little too small for their liking.

We were anxious as ever concerning our daughter, but we stayed calm as we held onto our children before allowing them to be taken back to be with the rest of the little babies. I walked over to Bella and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Isabella," I whispered against her skin.

Her hand brushed my cheek as she turned her face up toward mine. My lips slid across hers softly until finally I applied pressure, enjoying her soft lips on mine. She tried to deepen it, but there was a knock at my door, causing me to chuckle as I got up to let Alice and Rosalie in. While the three girls chirped about our children, I sat back, recalling Bella's crazy hormones. I swore, we had never had so much sex before. At first, I was extremely careful because I didn't want to hurt my babies, but when I realized we were pretty okay and Bella was begging for it a little less gentle…just amazing. Wow.

Soon enough, Bella was too tired to keep her eyes open and the girls left. I moved the chair I was sitting in to directly beside her bed and laid my head down on her lap.

We were able to take Contessa and Chase home a week later, and then a few weeks after that they allowed up to bring Carissa home.

Everything was perfect. Our family felt complete, and the both of us were happy.

As the time passed by, Contessa became Bella's Mini-me, and Chase was mine. But Carissa. Carissa was the little girl I dreamed of seeing. She had bronze curly hair, dark brown eyes, the perfect pale complexion, Bella's beautiful face, my crooked smile that had me bending to her will with ever little cry or giggle.

Bella was the perfect mother. She loved each of her children equally and never once did she have a problem taking care of them. She did it so well that she even had more than enough time to herself in order to continue writing. During her pregnancy, she'd written a book (mainly because I wouldn't let her do much other than sit and be a beautiful pregnant woman) and it had been the smuttiest romance novel ever. The book sold so many copies, nearly reaching the extreme sales of _For Always. _But not quite.

Rosalie had another little boy two years later, as did Alice. Rosalie was determined to have a little girl though. As much as she and Emmett loved being able to teach their boys about cars and sports, they wanted that perfect, adorable little girl. Rosalie had come from a large family of boys and wasn't afraid to have thirty little baby boys in order to try for that little girl. But she got off easy, sort of. She had two little baby girls. The Multiple Births Gene strikes again.

Alice and Jasper didn't have any multiples, but they wanted just as big of a family as the rest of us did. I didn't understand what it was about all of us, but we were all determined to have large families. It was funny, too, because we all lived in the same neighborhood. So my nephews and second cousins were all just as much my own. So by the time Alice had birthed another pretty baby girl, it was as though I had ten children. Not to mention my little brother and sister.

My parents were happier than ever. Charlie and Sue visited often. Seth married his long time girlfriend who had long ago stolen his heart about the same time Bella took possession of mine. Charlie and Sue had a baby boy, Renee and Phil had a baby girl, and Seth and Amy had two little boys.

Bella and I had another little boy, and afterward we decided we were done. We weren't going to risk another set of triplets, not that we didn't want them. Just not yet.

I was happy, Bella was happy, and everyone else was happy, too.

"Who would have thought that we'd end up here?" I whispered to Bella as we lay cuddled up together in bed.

She giggled and pressed a kiss to my chin. "Certainly not I."

I kissed her fully and rolled her onto her back, hovering above her.

When my chest began to burn with lack of oxygen, I moved my lips along her jaw, kissing down to her neck. I suckled the spot just behind her ear and she moaned loudly as she tugged on my hair. I chuckled against her skin. "Quiet, Love, you wouldn't want to wake our children."

With that being said, my lips descended upon hers and I thrust into her.

We still fit together perfectly, and somehow, she was still as fucking tight as ever.

We moaned and kissed and thrust together, bringing us each to our releases together in that mind-blowing way that could only happen between two soul mates.

"I love you, Edward," she whispered to me.

"I love you, Bella."

_For ever and for always._

. . . . . . . . . .

_**All the Children in Order of Birth**_

**Logan Robert Cullen** _(Rose and Em)_

**Abigail Gabrielle Whitlock** _(Alice and Jas)_

**Contessa Carly Cullen** _(Bella and Edward)_

**Chase Joshua Cullen** _(Bella and Edward)_

**Carissa Renesmee Cullen** _(Bella and Edward)_

**Jackson Kellan Cullen** _(Rose and Em)_

**Peter Shawn Whitlock** _(Alice and Jas)_

**Lillian Caitlyn Cullen** _(Rose and Em)_

**Marie Alyssa Cullen **_(Rose and Em)_

**Danielle Natalie Whitlock** _(Alice and Jas)_

**Christopher Cayden Cullen** _(Bella and Edward)_

**Decker Finn Clearwater** _(Amy and Seth)_

**Collin Maxim Swan** _(Sue and Charlie)_

**Blaine Jewel Dwyer** _(Renee and Phil)_

**Samuel Lincoln Clearwater** _(Amy and Seth)_


	29. A Final Toast To Time, Life, And Love

_so, another outtake. chances are that this will be the last one i'll give you, so drink it all in and then **GO TO VOTE FOR THE NEXT STORY ON MY POLL!!! **I add new stories almost daily too, which i would add an extra one after i post this, just cuz i think it's pretty cool. titles and summaries are subject to change, but all of them are rated M, most are AH but not all, and i'm positive that all of them are OOC in some capacity._

_like i usually do, i'll update you quickly on my life. i've thus far maintained an absolutely perfect (by my standards) relationship with my current boyfriend for the past three weeks and am feeling very romantic (and maybe i need to get rid of some sexual frustration the proper way...by producing a pretty little lemon for you beautiful readers) and have put together this chapter. i disected the digestive system of a fetal pig yesterday. totally cool! this is coming from the "i've seen 8 surgeries already, it's all just cake and cookies to me now" side of me. i had spring day today which is basically just a half day of school and then a field day/fair sorta thing. since dodgeball is against the law in jersey, we had a "bombardment" tournament in which our freshmen team got annhiallated (it's very likely i spelled that word incorrectly). the point of the game is to hit people with the volley balls (6 are in play at a time) and the same basic rules of dodge ball apply, but to win you have to knock the other team's tennis ball off of an orange cone that sits on a red metal folding chair, guarded by one member on each team._

_Alright, story time. Don't forget to send me your love (or hate or indifference) in a review and then go onto my author's page and **VOTE ON THE POLL OR SO HELP ME GOD!!!!....WELL, I GUESS I CAN'T DO ANYTHING BUT I CAN THINK ABOUT DOING REALLY MEAN THINGS TO YOU AND THAT AIN'T GOOD.** i love you guys. xoxo_

_Jordi Brooke_

**Edward's POV**

Bella panted heavily in my ear as she rode me, and then bit into my neck, bringing me to my release before she could find her own. She came not seconds after me, but I still pouted at her once my waves of pleasure had passed over me and then disappeared.

"Bella," I whined like a child.

She grinned smugly at me, kissing my lips long and hard.

"Yes, Edward?" she asked innocently.

I growled and flipped her onto her back, hovering over her, still inside her and hard again. She giggled while I nipped at her jaw, then moaned as I sucked on the spot behind her ear, pulling back just enough so that I could thrust into her powerfully.

"Oh _God_," she groaned.

"Not quite, love," I replied in a strained toned as I slammed into her again. I grunted, pulling my face back to look into her eyes, seeing the pleasure swirling in the brown pools. She kept her eyes open as she wrapped her small hands around my neck and pulled my face down to hers, molding her lips with mine. Her tongue invaded my mouth and explored as I focused on bringing her over the edge in one or two magnificent explosions.

My hand brushed down along her side, traveled over her stomach, and then slid between us. She bucked her hips harder than she'd been before when my finger found a fun spot: her clit. She moaned as her head fell back onto the pillow, her chest arching up and pressing the bare soft flesh against the exposed skin of my own.

"Cum for me, Bella," I demanded huskily in her ear now that she had freed my mouth. She shuddered beneath me and cried out my name as her walls clamped down on me with furious strength. I stilled for a moment, enjoying the feeling, before continuing at a slower, more torturous pace, drawing out her orgasm.

Small beads of sweat littered her skin as we continued our activities, the both of us panting and moaning and gasping, skin slapping against skin until finally I came once more and collapse atop her, my face buried between her breasts. I licked the sweat on the side of her boob that was within my reach, causing her to giggle as I hummed in satisfaction.

"You're delicious," I mumbled into her skin.

"So are you," she replied, laughing.

I turned my face toward her, grinning evilly. "I want to taste you." I began pushing myself up on my arms and crawling down her body but she grabbed my shoulders, stopping my journey to the Promised Land.

"_Oh, no_ you don't." I looked up at her, wondering what was stopping her, but saw the small, loving smile on her face as I crawled back up and returned my head to its previous resting place upon her chest. She twirled her fingers through my hair, now graying just a bit but not too much that it was very noticeable. Only when you had the point of view that Bella did, able to see from the top, would you notice the gray stands that were now sprinkled throughout my bronze hair. Of course, that was what happened when you'd had to survive the teenage years of two girls and two boys.

I pecked her skin and closed my eyes, enjoying our few moments together this morning and reveling in the happiness that accompanied our post coital cuddling.

"I love you," I reminded her softly as she looked down at me the same way that she always had. Her eyes sparkled in delight as she smiled.

"As I you, Edward, even after all these years."

My crooked grin presented itself, and I could hear her heartbeat falter beneath my ear before resuming its usual rhythm with just a slightly faster pace. We both must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Bella was shaking my shoulder softly and telling me we had to get up. She slipped out from beneath me as I stretched, and I watched her naked form walking over to the dresser.

Little had changed about her appearance over time. She was still just as beautiful as ever, if not more so, in the new curves which pregnancy had long ago afforded her. The glow she wore around me was more defined now than it had been, in the light her eyes only grew brighter as the days passed. Her skin was the same alabaster it always was, occasionally wearing a sunkissed tan during the summer. Her blush still blazed beneath her cheeks when I complimented her on her radiant beauty, or when Emmett chose her as the butt of his jokes for the day. Her brown hair flowed down to her mid-back, the ends curling haphazardly though they'd been straight when we'd gone to bed. I supposed the perspiration from our lovemaking earlier this morning might have had something to do with that.

Once she'd picked out her clothing from the dresser, she turned back toward me with her heart shaped face. "Will I be showering alone this morning?" she asked in a teasing tone, causing me to spring from the bed and chase her to the connecting bathroom. We made love again in the shower, and then we caressed each other as we washed the other's body. My hands ran over her flat stomach, covered in muscle due to her almost daily work outs with Emmett and Rosalie. She was probably in better shape now than she had been when we first met.

Over the years, she'd written more and more books, her popularity growing exponentially with each new release. She expanded her range, touching on other genres as well and even co-authoring with a few friends she'd met through her literary connections. Ben, Angela's husband, had been an author she partnered with multiple times, spinning out the most impressive and desired crime/romance novels. They had the action for all of the men out there, and the romance for all of the women. No one could have possibly put those books down until they'd been read from cover to cover, and were always top sellers.

We stepped out of the shower and slowly dried each other off, more innocently than we'd washed each other in the shower. We didn't have the time for another round of sex and today was important. Everything had to be set up perfectly.

Bella dressed in a beautiful, off-white, flowy, feminine halter dress with cross stitching along the bodice and a full pleated skirt that touched the very bottom of her knees. There was gold wicker belt that tied loosely around the waist and sandals of the same color and material with just a small wedge. She straightened her hair and allowed it to fall over her shoulders before wrapping her arms around my waist and leaning her head on my chest.

I looked at the both of us in the mirror, wondering how I, a man standing here in designer jeans and a dark blue dress shirt that Alice had forced upon me, was so lucky as to marry and spend the rest of my life with this beautiful angel who never quite saw herself for the perfect woman she was. One of my hands found its way to the small of her back while the other combed through her beautiful hair. I kissed her forehead and she kissed my chest, then my lips, before walking out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

I heard the back door close and knew she'd gone out to begin setting up the tables. I joined her once I brushed my teeth and shaved, smiling at her as we worked in perfect synchrony in setting up the backyard with many, many tables. We covered the tables in summer appropriate table cloths and then continued decorating in the usual red, white, and blue that was used on the Fourth of July.

I pulled the grill out onto the patio and Bella put a few things into the oven, turning on the stereo so that we could listen as we worked to finish setting everything up. It wasn't long before the doorbell rang and the first of our guests arrived, easily being Emmett and Rosalie bearing gifts of soda, more soda, water, beer, wine, more and more alcohol, some more soda, and a small amount of juice as well for the little ones.

We hugged hello, but they weren't of the guests we were most excited to see. We loved them, but we saw them nearly everyday, much as we did Alice and Jasper who walked in bearing gifts of various deserts that the women would refuse to eat tonight and then sneak bites of just before they were thrown out.

Alice, Bella, and Rosalie chatted away, arranging the drinks in coolers and storing the desserts in the fridge in the basement. Most of the food would be set out on the counter, the kitchen table, or the dining room table to make life easier for all of us.

Emmett, Jasper, and I discussed the most recent baseball games and the Wimbledon finals when my parents walked in, still in their prime, amazingly. They were both wholly gray and slightly wrinkled, but I swore they were healthier than any of us. They had brought with them many chips and Mom's famous homemade dip in one extremely large bowl that would hopefully be capable of surviving the large group which would be joining us.

Soon enough, however, the guests who we didn't see quite so often began to arrive.

Collin entered with Charlie and Sue, smiling confidently as always, holding a new girl on his arm today that seem to have him enraptured in every movement she made. Bella greeted her little half-brother with enthusiasm, asking about how his classes were at UCLA and how he and his girlfriend, the girl he held onto tightly whose name I learned was Liz, had met.

Logan walked in next on his own, going directly toward his parents and hugging them before coming over to me with a "Hey Uncle Eddie" and a very Emmettesque boom of laughter. He was very much what Emmett had been at that age, and I recalled the days that summer I joined them in Forks. He had just turned 27, and at the time Emmett had been going on that year.

Abigail, Abbey for short, walked in with that perfect combination of Alice and Jasper in her features. She held the hand of her husband, John, the only son of Angela and Ben, and the hand of 3 year old Sarah, her identical twin Jordan taking Johns other hand. The Multiple Birth Gene struck again. In fact, it was off how many had been hit with it.

Ben and Angela weren't far behind, greeting their daughter and grand children for the first time since they saw them in person last month. It was a cute reunion and I wondered how mine and Bella's would be with our own children.

Seth and Amy, Phil and Renee, and Billy all followed after them, bringing more gifts of food, as had the others who had already arrived. The food was stacked on the surfaces that Bella and I had previously cleared for just that reason and people began making their way into the large backyard, enjoying the summer weather. We were fortunate to have such a large house, even greater than that of the one in Forks, in case it should rain considering the number of guests we were hosting.

Danielle, Jasper and Alice's other daughter, arrived with her fiancée, Derek, and ran to her niece and nephew, scooping them up and hugging them enthusiastically before greeting any of the rest of us.

Blaine, Renee and Phil's daughter, arrived at about the same time as Marie, Rose and Emmett's daughter who went by Mac (short for Marie Alyssa Cullen), and they both headed off into their own little corner chatting with Logan as the only ones present with no significant other to spend the patriotic holiday with. Blaine technically had a boyfriend, but he was working as an intern at a law firm in Phoenix and couldn't take the time to fly out for the patriotic holiday.

Jackson and his wife, Celia, were next to step foot in our door and hug us hello quickly before running off to see Emmett and Rose, Jackson's parents, about something that, when it had been mumbled to me, sounded like 'we're moving back and they'd better be excited'. They lived in New York City where Jackson ran his own advertising firm. He was highly successful and word had it that he was expanding.

Emma and her husband David joined our growing reunion with their 7 year old daughter Tibby and 4 year old twins Tommy and Thea. Like I'd said, the Multiple Births Gene had struck many times. I hugged my little sister tightly and warned her about trying for a fourth baby, because just might end up with a fifth and a sixth as well, which caused her to smack my arm laughing, though Emmett, in all seriousness, warned her about the same thing.

Elliot, Emma's twin and my other brother, entered with his wife Jennifer, 9 year old twins Alexander and Robert, 6 year old Avery, and 2 year old Winnie. I gave him the same warning about trying for a fifth and getting more than he asked for, and he laughed replying that he had three boys and a girl, he was in over his head already.

Amy and Seth's younger son, Samuel, Sammy for short, walked in with his fiancée, Lucie, and they were quite possibly the cutest couple ever, reminding me very much of the way Bella and I had been when we were in our own little bubble.

Peter, the last of Alice and Jasper's children to arrive, introduced me to his girlfriend Analisa, and I noticed she wore the silver heart locket with a perfect _P_ engraved into the front. I raised my eyebrow in Peter's direction and he mouthed the words _I already have the ring too._ I chuckled and patted him on the back as he walked past and toward his parents.

Lillian, Rosalie and Emmett's other daughter, came in with a slightly rounder belly, the only sign that she was pregnant, and her husband, Shawn, with his arm wrapped around her shoulders and his held tilted toward her belly talking to the baby that couldn't quite hear him just yet, telling him or her to "stop making Mommy sick." I chuckled and kissed Lilly on the cheek.

And that left only mine and Bella's kids to arrive, none of them appearing just yet. They had decided to meet in LA last night and stay in a hotel, having their own little reunion before coming to the party today. They all were caught in traffic, however, and had called just about two hours earlier to notify us they would be late.

I intertwined my fingers with Bella's, bringing the back of her hand up to my lips, just as the doorbell rang. The both of us walked to the door and answered it to see a large group of people standing out on our porch, all of which in some way looked like we once had or a combination of it.

Contessa, or Tessi, stood beside her husband, Decker (Seth and Amy's older son), with three month old Baby Sydney cradled in her arms. Tessi looked exactly like Bella had when she was 26, and Baby Sydney looked exactly like Tessi had when I held her in my arms every night, humming the lullaby I'd written for the triplets.

Chase, who looked exactly as I had the summer I met Bella, stood beside his fiancée, Cameron (couldn't resist), holding her lovingly and grinning crookedly at Bella and me. He twirled the ring around her finger, an exact copy of Bella's engagement ring, but with an inscription so perfectly written that even I couldn't be that charming. Clearly, he combined Bella's incredible literary knowledge and romantic writing with my hopeless romanticism, taking both from each of us as he grew up.

Carissa was tinier than the two of them were and looked at me with bronze curly hair, dark brown eyes, Bella's beautiful face, and my crooked smile, just the same as I remembered, the girl I'd always dreamed of back at the start of mine and Bella's marriage. Her boyfriend, Christian, rested his chin on his shoulder, holding her around the waist against his chest, and again I was reminded of Bella and I in our relationship as we sat in our little bubble that first summer.

And finally, Christopher stood with his hands on the bulging belly of his wife, Sophia, three of my four grandchildren housed in that rounded stomach. Christopher messy brown hair that was just as, if not more, untamable as mine always had been and still was, fell into his face as his bright green eyes looked down at his own children who would be born in another month or less. Multiple Births Gene. It really enjoyed one fourth of the people in each generation.

I swore, all four of our children swarmed us at once, their significant others joining in, too, as they were just as much our family as those actually related by blood. I stood there, taking in the hugs of my children, and smiling as I recalled the last years of all of our lives.

As children, the kids at school had flocked to the triplets, and in the later years, to Christopher as well. They had more friends than they could ever ask for, and many of those included their two cousins who were of the same age. They had formed friendships that would never truly break apart, even if they were separated for a few years. They would always return to each other eventually, however, just as Em, Jazz, and I had done.

In their teen years, Tessi had been the smart but preppy girl, Chase had been the super jock with a brilliant mind, and Carissa had been the rebellious cutie. I promise you, sixty percent of my gray hairs were from the teen years of those three, Carissa specifically. Christopher had been a bit mellower. He was still highly social and popular as well as another super jock with a brilliant mind, but he was also a bit of a goody-goody, always seeking approval as the younger sibling and trying to outdo the three who'd set the expectations (though we didn't expect him to be like them or to do better than them, just to do the best that he could.) He most certainly managed to outdo them, but, then again, he also knew where he needed to be to be the best, where as they didn't have a pre-established mark of what would put them above their little brother in the years to come.

College. Oh, boy. Tessi had gone to Arizona to study English, just as Decker had. She'd met him through Seth and Amy when they'd invited her out there at the beginning of the school year, and they'd been in love ever since. Chase had gone to UCLA where he played football and studied business. Carissa had gone to Dartmouth in order to study medicine, not only surprising us all but pleasing us immensely. Christopher, very surprisingly, followed his musical abilities (which far exceeded mine as he played piano, guitar, bass, saxophone, violin, and a variety of other instruments, along with singing incredibly) and skipped over college entirely to pursue music.

Tessi, much like her mother, had published her first book before graduating college, and Decker had written his own mystery novel. And just like Bella, the both of them flew to the top of the best seller's list all over the country.

Chase went on to play in the NFL and Cameron had been his physical therapist when he injured himself. He and his team had just won the super bowl and were celebrating when one of the other players had hoisted him up (he'd scored the winning touch in the last minute, after all) onto their shoulders, only to loose their grip and for him to fall to the floor, messing up his shoulder. Fortunately, he was okay to play for the next season and show off for his love as she sat in the stands, cheering him on. (It may have helped him to get her attention considering the fact that she was one of his biggest fans.)

Carissa just graduated medical school at the top of her class and had met Christian just before graduation. He was second in the class, and it was love at first…witty comment. Those two verbally sparred with the best of them. It was absolutely incredible, but I'd seen them from the beginning and they did it with all the love in the world. She was starting at a hospital in Chicago next week and he was following her there.

Christopher was signed to his first label at age 19 and was the new Jesse McCartney/Jonas Brothers/Justin Timberlake/David Archuleta all rolled into one by the time he was 20. Sophia was his PR, and the next year they were secretly married in the back yard of our home. It wasn't announced that they'd been married (only that they were dating) until they found out Sophia was not only pregnant but pregnant with triplets.

And here we stood, the triplets at age 26, Christopher at age 23, Bella at age 55, and me at age 57. Boy, did I feel old. Damn. Where did all the time go?

Time had escaped me, yet there was still so much more to experience in the next forty years I hoped I had left. I hugged Bella to me and kissed her on the cheek, inviting our children into the home to join all of us, bringing our number to a grand total of 56 people, Bella and I included.

Everyone stood in the backyard and talked and celebrated the holiday. At the end of the night, as fireworks could be seen far of in the distance, all of us held up our wine glasses, sodas, beers, juices, and waters and toasted as seemed to be traditional on some of the most important nights to all of us.

"To friends," one of us started.

"To family," Rosalie shouted out as the six of us who had truly brought this entire group together joined in the front of the crowd, looking out at everyone.

"To sisters," Alice contributed, taking Rose's and Bella's hands.

"To love," Bella continued as I wrapped my arm around her waist, Emmett doing the same to Rose and Jasper wrapping his arms around Alice from behind.

"To children," Emmett added.

"And to grandchildren," I inputted, looking over at my little granddaughter Sydney and Sophia standing not a foot away with three more on their way.

"To brothers," Jasper went on.

"To all of the twins and all of the triplets…"

"To new relationships…"

"And to old ones…"

"To the types of bonds that never break…"

"To happiness…"

"To success…"

"To freedom…" It was Independence Day, after all. I wasn't surprised someone threw it out there.

"To living life to its fullest potential…"

"To life in general…"

"To the future…"

"To the past…"

"To time…"

"To each of our own forevers…" Alice finished.

Glasses clinked together with that final saying and I smiled, moving around so I stood in front of Bella. I leaned down, brushing my lips over hers. "To our own for always," I whispered against them, pressing my lips down and kissing the woman I would love every day I lived, and every day after I died. The woman I would love for ever and for always.

**_Vote. Review. I love you._**

**_No sequel. I loved writing this and I will miss you until I put up the new story of your choice. xoxo Jordana Brooke xoxo_**

**People in attendence at the party:**

**-Bella (55 going on 56) & Edward (57)**

**-Alice (56) & Jasper (59)**

**-Rosalie (56) & Emmett (58)**

**-Esme & Carlisle (they're somewhere in their 80s i believe...wow)**

**-Ben (57) & Angela (57)**

**-Charlie (75) & Sue (74)**

**-Seth (54) & Amy (51)**

**-Renee (75) & Phil (63)**

**-Billy (not even gonna touch his age...)**

**-Collin (24) & Liz (22)**

**-Logan (27)**

**-Abigail (27) & John (28) & Sarah + Jordan (3)**

**-Contessa (26) & Decker (25) & Sydney (3 months)**

**-Chase (26) & Cameron (27)**

**-Carissa (26) & Christian (26)**

**-Jackson (24) & Celia (26)**

**-Peter (24) & Analisa (23)**

**-Lillian (22)[pregnant] & Shawn (27)**

**-Marie (22)**

**-Danielle (21) & Derek (24)**

**-Christopher (23) & Sophia (25)[pregnant]**

**-Blaine (25)**

**-Samuel (23) & Lucie (20)**

**-Emma (33) & David (35) & Tibby (7) & Thea + Tommy (4)**

**-Elliot (33) & Jennifer (33) & Alexander + Robert (9) & Avery (6) & Winnie (2)**


	30. Love You Too, Don't Hate Me

**a/n: **_In celebration of the completion of all of my finals, I have decided it's time for me to begin with my new story. As most of you know, I miss getting to write for all of you, and this story really has gotten moving finally to the point where I'm happy with all of it. Chapters won't be as long, but should remain at one a week (hopefully)._

_Now, I know that I had a poll up for which story I would post, but it seems that I found my inspiration in one of the stories that wasn't quite as popular as others. I'm sorry for those of you who are disappointed, but you'll enjoy it, I can promise you that. I've been working hard on it, and I suppose that some things don't come out quite right, but I think it works and I'm certain that it has the perfect mix of fun and love. It's different from anything I've written thus far and I hope you can really love it the way that I do._

_So, here is the official announcement that __**Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder**__. _

_On Tuesday, I officially begin summer vacation, and while I'll be away for a grand total of four weeks this summer, during which time I will be unable to write, and will be trying to sort out arrangements with my boyfriend (a month and a half, yet he'll be away all of July), so my schedule will be difficult to maneuver. But, because I do have multiple chapters finished already, I'm hoping that they will carry me through the weeks that I can't get anything written._

_My next order of business: I want to thank every single one of you who have read this through to the end (I suppose I've done this about 300 times already, but there's no harm in doing so once more). It really puts me in a great mood to face one truly shitty world, and I just wanted to make sure all of you know that you all embody one of my only lights in those days of darkness and rain. Don't make yourself scarce, PM or review if you ever want to chat. You're all incredibly important to me, and I've found that everyone of you (of those I've spoken with) have these incredible personalities and you all tend to give me very unique ideas for my stories just through some random sentence spouted during an average conversation. I love you guys!!!_

_So, next on my list of things to address…_

_Oh, right…_

_Wait…just forget it…_

_Hmmm…_

_I'm not even kidding here. There was something I wanted to discuss and it totally slipped my mind and now I can't even remember and—haha! Success! So, a lot of you have read my story (or at least what I've written of it thus far) __**Nothing To Live For**__. More importantly, however, you all have asked me to keep writing it. For the time being, I just want to remind you all that I've taken a break from it (clearly a very, very long one) and until I clear the evil demon known as writer's block from my head, there will be no new chapter. I'm sorry, but the story is on hold._

_I just wanted to post some stats, last of all, for this story, because it's one of those things that really blow my mind._

_**For Always **__statistics as of 6/19/09 4:30 PM Eastern Time_

_Words: 203,559_

_Chapters: 29_

_Reviews: 908_

_Hits: 211,627_

_C2s: 19_

_Favs: 868_

_Alerts: 480_

_Total number of visitors each month since this story began…_

…_August 2008 – 993_

…_September 2008 – 549_

…_October 2008 – 1,340_

…_November 2008 – 3,271_

…_December 2008 – 5,744_

…_January 2009 – 2,860_

…_February 2009 – 7,886_

…_March 2009 – 5,296_

…_April 2009 – 7,513_

…_May 2009 – 11,916_

…_June 2009 – 3,580_

_So, this is me, signing off from the completed __**For Always**__, and beginning an entirely new journey, one sure to be different yet interesting, with __**Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.**__ Love you all._

_xoxo Jordi Brooke oxox_


	31. New Story: El Angel de Las Tinieblas

_A/n:_

_Hey there! I guess it's been a really long time, but I've finally managed to get my head together well enough to post a new story._

_El Angel de Las Tinieblas_

_Summary: __Edward can't help but follow las tradiciones of his family. Despite his darkness, she still considers him her angel. Amor, pistolas, y los males will reign supreme. Just hope you're on the right side of the gun in this family. Cannon AH Mob/Spanish-ward_

_Something very different, I think from what I've written before, so I hope you all will go and check it out and let me know what you think!_

_Jordi Brooke_


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